


Redolent

by MindtheGap



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: AU-Shifter, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Background nicky/ovi, Bond Crisis, Kidfic, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Miscommunication, Mpreg, Relationships are hard work, Slow Burn, Some cultures refer to the January full moon as the wolf moon, Unknown Illness, a/b/o dynamics-ish, au-band, background benneguin, background haggy/horny poly references, miscarriage referenced
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 10:17:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19105105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MindtheGap/pseuds/MindtheGap
Summary: He has everything. He plays keyboard and writes lyrics for Ptich'i Mozgi- his popular Russian-Swedish band, he has a band pack that adores him, nieces he can dote on frequently, pack mates to chirp endlessly, travels the world, and is free to run his Howls as his wolf desires.But something is missing.When the band makes their way into Pittsburgh territory for the first time, Zhenya cannot help but become enthralled by a mysterious scent.But when the Full Moon sets as they leave Pittsburgh, he never wants to come back or hear about the Captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins.Sometimes you don't get what you want.





	Redolent

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zhenya71](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zhenya71/gifts).



> This lovely fic was created for Zhenya71.
> 
> I basically took all your prompts and meshed a couple of them together to create this. I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Warning that there is references to miscarriages, mpreg, and tweaked a/b/o dynamics.
> 
> Terminology was created for world building purposes and a list of meanings can be found at the end notes.

**January**

It’s early January and the bus heater will not turn off. They have another 3 hours before they reach the outskirts of the Pittsburgh territory. They're sat in the cramped booth at the center of the bus, all close and sweating through their thin shirts and basketball shorts. 

Except Patric. 

Patric has stripped to his briefs and only has those on because Vendela is at the age where she's just starting to hold her human skin more often then her fur. And like to most pups, clothes make no sense. So, Patric is trying his hardest to model clothing in social situations even amongst his surrogate pack mates. 

Zhenya isn't sure who hates being clothed more out of the two of them.

Sasha has Vendela on his lap, making funny faces at her and smiling proudly when she folds in on herself in a fit of laughter. Sasha is also failing horribly at not preening under the besotted look on Nicki's face. 

Zhenya can tell they're going to try pupping soon. He's amazed they haven't had any unexpected pups with how inconsistent they are at tracking Sasha's estrus and taking his Neuters. On several occassions Nicki has stated that there would be no Waning-Anxiety if the Neuters worked on Alphas, because he is much more consistent then his partner. 

Patric and Zhenya share a knowing look behind their friends' backs. Patric has hinted at his and Malin's plan to stop pupping; they are beyond content with their two pups and with life on the road, bringing them into strange territories often it is easier to manage their curious little ones. 

Isabella is leaning against Zhenya's side, intently watching a Peppa Pig episode and only occasionally shifting her position before burrowing back into Zhenya.

Zhenya chooses to ignore the look Patric gives him. He knows that while they are done pupping, they want their pack to start pupping so their pups are all close in age. Patric has lamented the lack of cousins for Isabella with increasing frequency. Zhenya desperately hopes Sasha and Nicki catch at the next moon. It won't be anywhere near as easy to maneuver the touring schedule with their lead singer pregnant, but they could make do. 

They've been touring since Isabella's first moon. Patric had fretted about entering strange territory while they were expecting. They spent most of Malin's second pregnancy in Nashville with Malin's old pack mates, the Rinnes. Their shows had been all within a day or two's drive. 

Malin knew all the good spots for Howls near Nashville. She made sure to help ease Sasha and Zhenya's worries about being foreigners, both in pack and mother tongue.

They'd had discussions previously. The pack was aware of their one omega's preference for pack when he finally caught. He wanted the band together, but also wanted to go back to Washington.to be near his family and friends and their pups. 

It had won over Patric and Malin. Zhenya's opinion was not as weighted as the unmated member. 

" _Farbor Zhenya_ ," Isabella's soft voice chimes up from his side. She has a soft British lilt to her words that is present after a couple of episodes of Peppa. Zhenya glances down with an interested noise. "Tell me a story? Peppa is bore." 

"Peppa is boring, _mina älskling_." Patric corrects with a proud smile. Isabella crinkles her nose at her father, who chuckles as Zhenya taps her nose with his finger.

"Your nose make stuck there like that. Bad look. Think how your wolf feel when nose stuck like pig?" Isabella buries her face in Zhenya's side with a cry of “no.”

The cramped bus echoes with laughter as Zhenya throws his head back in glee. He gently coaxes Isabella out from his side, tapping her nose gently with a fond smile as he waits for her to look up at him. The moment she lifts her eyes to meet his, his face slips into a comedic rendition of a hound dog: eyes seemingly heavier with the crossing of his eyes, his tongue flopping out of the side of his mouth. This earns him a shriek of joyous laughter from both pups. 

Zhenya's jaw juts to the side as he chuckles deeply; proud. 

"Hey, we are about 30 minutes from the neutral zone." Malin calls from the front of the bus. "Do we know who we are doing clearance with?"

"Carl can't make it tonight." Patric calls to the front of the bus as he pulls out his phone to check a message. “He said Erica and Nathalie will greet us." Patric pauses to furrow his brow. 

"Nathalie?" Nicki asks slowly. "As in, Nathalie Lemieux?" Patric shrugs and continues to avoid eye contact. 

"Who the hell is this connection in Pittsburgh, Horny?" Sasha asks in glee. He looks down at the baby he's bouncing and smiles, "your papa has connections that is giving us face time with the Alpha's mate for all of Pittsburgh territory. Such a wonderful papa he is." Sasha continues to bounce the giggling baby on his lap with a huge grin on his own face. 

"My best friend and his mate live there now. Might make getting into Colombus tricky for the next show, but it should work." Patric adds with a playful smile. 

"Yes, well, now we can make Zhenya's dream come true of being able to see his precious Sidney Crosby play up close, all personal." Sasha adds gleefully without taking his gaze from Vendela. 

"Sasha, that's only if we are there for a game and if he can find time to attend. The moon is close." Nicki adds with a glance out the window. "You know how much I hate Howling in new territories when we don't have connections." Sasha makes a comforting noise as Nicki buries his face in Sasha's grey hair. 

"It will be ok, Nishka." Sasha's voice is soft and tender.

The bus pulls to a stop at a parking lot that presses against a dense collection of trees. Malin yips as she cuts the engine and starts to move into the corridor of the bus — the usual signal that speaks to their wolves of introduction and civility, but also of wariness.

Zhenya tenses as he watches his bandmates nod in anticipation before starting to strip from their clothing. Zhenya steps from the booth, pulling Isabella with him to pass to her father. Stepping out of his clothing, he rolls his shoulders back and cracks his jaw before squatting down and falling forward in a quick mess of cracking bones and shifting skin. 

As his eyes adjust to the keener vision, he takes in his band pack. They’ve all shifted and Horny is currently passing Vendela's wolf to Malin, who takes her gently by her scruff while Isabella circles her mother's forelegs. The familiar ache in Zhenya's chest throbs gently as he watches Horny nuzzle each of his family before stepping in front to start towards the door. 

Zhenya steps behind Sasha and Nicki's wolves as they take the center. Zhenya's larger frame makes him a good point guard from the back of the pack. He resents the placement as they exit the bus. The area is new and he doesn't like not having the opportunity to acquaint himself with the area. 

There are two wolves waiting by a post at the edge of the trees. One is white with a svelte build and is standing eagerly as they watch Zhenya and his band pack approach. He assumes they are Patric's connection. Which means the mostly grey wolf with the black eye markings and long legs is Nathalie Lemieux. 

Zhenya inhales deeply as he readies himself to meet the mate of one of his favorite hockey players, as well as an Omega renowned for her work in omega health. 

However there's another scent in the air. It's too faded to make a distinct smell, but he can't stop the itching that slowly starts under his skin — like his wolf wants to separate from the pack and roll in the source of it, even if it's too faint to follow. 

He inhales once more in vain of catching more of the scent. His next exhale, Zhenya plants his paws in the dirt and forces himself to take in the current meeting. 

The on-edge sensation does not fade.

The white wolf is pressed against Malin, with Isabella and Vendela sitting calmly behind the two, while Patric allows Nathalie Lemieux to scent him. Sasha and Nicki sit just off center, ready to protect if necessary but also waiting patiently to show a sign of trust. 

Zhenya hates the rituals of American pack lines: the asking to enter and the need to have a connection before one can. He knows they will have difficulty entering Columbus after this. He's read enough of the dailies about what social media is saying about their tour dates. 

Especially since Pittsburgh has been added for the first time ever.

It makes him itch.

On top of the on-edge feeling he's had since his fist whiff of Pittsburgh. It will probably be his last time agreeing to come here.

Zhenya stops and looks at Nathalie Lemieux as she slowly approaches. Nicki is pressing reassurance his way, but fully relaxing during this ritual has always been difficult for him. 

Nathalie watches him closely as she sits in front of him. Her eyes are steady but he feels like she sees past both the wolf and the human in a way that reminds him of his mother. It hurts but he also knows not to flinch under her gaze. Years of sitting under his mother's knowing gaze warns him of the consequences. 

He can feel a new mind pressing laughter his way. He's unsure if it's the white wolf or Nathalie Lemieux, and either way he has to let his hackles remain relaxed. 

Nathalie huffs before leaning forward to press her nose against his neck. Burrowing her nose into the thick fur below his jaw. Zhenya bites back a growl both he and his wolf desperately want to make at the touch. He breathes slowly but loudly thru his nose and pretends not to note the huff and sense of amusement rolling off Nathalie.

She steps back and with a swish of her tail they are granted entry. 

Zhenya can feel Sasha and Patric laughing through the pack bond. Nicki only makes a gruff pleased feeling pass through with words of validation. 

They quickly shift back to their human forms, Patric throwing his arms around the slight blond woman standing where the white wolf had been. Malin is bouncing a fussy pup in her arms trying to coax Vendela into shifting. As Isabella's human feet hit the ground, she immediately launches herself at the woman and starts speaking rapidly in Swedish.

A soft chuckle pulls Zhenya away from a cursory look at Sasha and Nicki moving towards the group of Swedes. He looks down at Nathalie Lemieux, who is still eyeing him with amusement and deep perception.

"There's something unsettling you here." She states calmly as she watches Zhenya. He inhales sharply, unable to hide the flinch as he catches the scent once again. He wonders how many years of being a hockey wife and Pack Omega have allowed her to not react at his flinch.

"There's a scent," he mumbles as he keeps his gaze. The last thing he wants is to dissolve the acceptance by insulting their Omega. "It's not strong, but my wolf, like, he watch not sleep. Feels like I'm wait for Howl. Not a problem, promise. If it gets worse I say." 

Nathalie's gaze is unsettling now that Zhenya has all but rolled on his back for her to see his vulnerability. He hates it.

Nathalie nods. She inhales deeply with a pensive expression. Zhenya can see her pulling apart the scents in the air and he is both mesmerized and filled with regret about coming to Pittsburgh. She shrugs after a moment, then reaches up to pat Zhenya's shoulder softly before turning to face the rest of the group.

"You can bring your bus to the arena then come stay at our guest house." Nathalie holds a hand up to counter any contradictions. "You are new here. Erika and her family cannot put your entire pack up. We have an add-on specifically for this type of scenario. It allows some of our more protective wolves to be more at ease about newcomers as well." 

Zhenya watches carefully as Patric and Malin step closer to their friend. He can hear soft words in Swedish being exchanged between them still. Nicki keeps glancing over from his spot next to Sasha. 

Sasha slaps his hands together then points to the bus with a gleeful smile. "First one to the bus gets to drive!"

Nicki's hands clamp down on Sasha's shoulders. "Malin, please." Zhenya chuckles at Nicki's pained and Sasha's indignant expressions. Malin links arms with her friend and guides her towards the bus while she holds Vendela's sleeping furry form and the other woman carries Isabella. 

Nathalie turns back to Zhenya and nods before falling into step with Patric.

Zhenya follows Nicki and Sasha onto the bus as Sasha tries unsuccessfully to goad Nicki into a fight. As they reach their discarded clothing, Nicki picks up Sasha's shorts and shoves them into his face before pressing a kiss to his temple. Sasha's laughter rings through the bus.

Nathalie grins wolfishly as she joins them in the booth in a delicate pose that Zhenya’s wolf envies. Patric takes the end of the booth and huffs as his tail rhythmically hits the bottom edging of the booth.

On the bus, Zhenya's skin feels calmer but the wolf is still unsettled by the Pittsburgh air. He allows himself to remain quiet as the group chats amicably with Nathalie and Malin navigates the Pittsburgh roads to the arena. 

He glances towards the kitchenette where the Neuter is flashing green. He had hoped the filtered air would help him regain his center and ease the wolf.

 

They reach the arena to see throngs of people leaving and Zhenya realizes there must have been a game. He quickly shifts and looks out the window at the crowds. Most are in human shapes, some shifted to wolves and he thinks he saw a couple of cats and a bear. He wonders if Pittsburgh has many people who are not wolves. 

Maybe that was what had set him on edge earlier. 

As he follows his band pack and the Pittsbugh representatives off the bus, he is hit with the scent again. Stronger this time, but still faint — almost like the scent is buried in the building. He inhales sharply, focusing on the notes of musk and honey and something warm he can't place. 

Sasha nudges his side worryingly before starting to head towards the rest of the group. 

A blond man in a suit is walking out of the arena with two tall dark haired men also in suits. There are easy grins on their faces. Zhenya realizes as they approach that it’s Carl Hagelin of the Pittsburgh Penguins walking with Jamie Oleksiak and Matt Murray. He can feel his jaw drop in shock.

He mingles with famous people for a living, but this team has always had a special place in his heart. Zhenya watches in paralyzed horror as Patric shifts mid lunge towards Carl Hagelin. "HAGGY!" Patric booms excitedly as he wraps his limbs around Carl's body. Carl shows off his quick reflexes as he grasps at the muscles in Patric's legs to keep them both standing upright.

Both men are quiet as they rub their faces together, scenting one another. Zhenya looks towards Malin to find her wolf smiling at the sight of her mate so intimately scenting another wolf, even in human skin.

Isabella rushes over on paws still too big for her body and starts to yip at the two men. Matt Murray drops to his knees and holds out a hand to her.

Zhenya is still staring in shock as he feels taunts being pushed at him from Sasha, teasing about his beloved team clearly having deep connections to their band. Zhenya shoves back annoyance and the intent to bite if Sasha continues. 

Sasha tilts his head in surprise. Well accustomed to Zhenya's large emotions, he presses questions towards Zhenya, who shakes his head and tries to press the on-edge sensation back. Sasha steps back quickly, pausing to glance back at Nicki, who has moved to join the group of Swedes. Sasha steps forward and lifts his head, offering his neck to Zhenya, encouraging him to ground himself in his pack in the midst of whatever is keeping him riled up. 

Zhenya whimpers softly as he presses his muzzle deep into the fur of Sasha's neck. He inhales deeply and tries to ignore the mothering comfort of Sasha resting his chin between Zhenya's ears. 

The edge seems to move further away under his skin the longer he keeps his muzzle buried. After a few minutes, he realizes the edge is not going to leave his senses completely, but he feels much more able to focus. 

With a playful huff, Zhenya pulls back and looks at Sasha thankfully. Sasha is watching him carefully but does not press. 

"Zhenya, Sasha," Patric calls from where he's standing with his naked body still wrapped around a hockey player. "This is Haggy, did you know he's my best friend?"

Carl laughs at Patric and slaps has ass before letting go, allowing Patric to stand at his side. Neither man completely breaks contact with the another. 

"It’s amazing to meet you all. I'm a huge fan of your music." Murray adds from his position scratching Isabella's head. 

"Yeah you guys are amazing. I can't believe you're actually in a town at the same time as we are," Jamie adds gleefully. "Haggy over here has hijacked Dumo's DJ role and has been playing your songs constantly in the weight room." Carl's cheeks redden softly as Jamie elbows him. 

"I heard Sid fumbling over the words to _Iron Heart_ in the shower tonight, so your indoctrination worked," Matt adds with a knowing smirk. 

"Alright, that's enough talk." Carl claps his hands before looking towards Nathalie. He lowers his head briefly before glancing back at the wolves. "Everybody coming to my house follow me to the car. Nathalie will lead the others to her home." 

Zhenya doesn't miss the way Patric never went soft after scenting Carl and wonders if they should offer to take the pups. Then he looks back at Nicki, who bites lovingly at Sasha's ear. Zhenya wonders if it would be too insulting if he slept on the bus.

Nathalie's pull interrupts his thoughts. He turns and they all split to go their separate ways.

***

The guts of PPG arena are like the guts of any other arena they've played in. The neuter sensors are going full blast, trying to save the band from the fans’ pheromones hitting them before they get on stage. 

Zhenya can feel the restlessness rolling off his band pack. Even Patric — who had shown up with scratch and bite marks all over his torso and the most relaxed Zhenya has seen him since he first held Vendela — is now bouncing around. The originally new shirt he had been wearing has already had the sleeves ripped off. The collar is starting to wear with how frequently Patric tugs at it while he goes over his equipment.

Zhenya makes his way to the stage, taking his usual seat next to Sasha. Their legs dangle over the edge and they look out at the empty arena. Sasha wordlessly hands Zhenya the acoustic guitar next to him then takes his own electric one into his hands. 

Zhenya smiles as he thumbs over the chords. His long fingers slide his pick from its spot between the strings at the highest fret. Sasha plucks a chord and listens as it echoes throughout the arena. Zhenya starts to strum slowly as a new melody plays in his mind. Sasha watches the lighting coordinators working as he joins in, allowing their notes to echo and twine together. 

"Are you two trying to throw a new song at us right before a show?" Nicki jokes as he sets his bass in its stand near center stage.

"No, _zvezda mota_. Never. Nobody wants to hear Zhenya's barking." Sasha places his guitar gently on the stage and leaps to his feet, quickly grabbing Nicki's hand and spinning him closer. "Not when we have your voice to make our words carry so beautifully." 

Nicki rolls his eyes, but smiles fondly and accepts a kiss to his cheek.

Zhenya chuckles as he moves to his feet and places his guitar in the stand closest to his keyboard. He smiles as he starts running through his pre-show rituals.

The next time Zhenya steps onto the stage, the arena is packed. The noise from the crowd is like electrical currents running through his skin. It's the energy he feeds on and the best type of validation. 

Zhenya looks over at Patric from his spot at his board. Patric grins, spins his sticks, and drops his sunglasses over his eyes before spinning his hat backwards. 

Nicki hip checks Zhenya as he walks towards his bass, briefly nodding at the audience before righting the strap across his shoulders.

Sasha drops a water bottle on Zhenya's keyboard stand as he passes, scanning Zhenya briefly. Zhenya wonders if Sasha can feel how much the audience and the moon are affecting him. He will definitely need to run after the show.

"Good evening, Pittsburgh!" Sasha bellows into his microphone. "I am Sasha! This beauty on the bass is Nicki. On drums is Patric and on the keys is Zhenya." Sasha motions towards each of them before turning back to the audience to wink. "But of course you know that already." Sasha chuckles as the audience bursts into cheers. "Enough chat, how about we play some music for you?" The crowd roars and Zhenya shakes his head as Sasha turns towards him and Patric and mouth a countdown. 

Patric starts in on the drum and at his count, Zhenya hits the first key of many. Nicki adds in his deep notes on the bass as Sasha works the stage and starts in on his guitar. They play around with the music, their instruments talking with and over one another before they start to settle down for Nicki's voice to take the lead.

The crowd sings their lyrics back at them. Applause fills the building after every number. Zhenya is riding on a high of adrenaline and his wolf is itching to Howl. To share the euphoria with the Moon.

That's when the scent hits him. Zhenya's fingers keep moving but he is rooted in his spot. He can feel his wolf pacing quickly and edging close to the top of his skin, wanting to chase the scent. It's a call to him and he knows he is fighting it as his breathing becomes shallow and his limbs start to shake. He forces his eyes to move towards Nicki who is watching him closely but never loses the beat. 

Before Zhenya can say anything Nicki grabs Sasha and pulls him into a deep kiss. The audience bursts into applause and cheers, which gives Zhenya time to allow Malin to pull him backstage and press a neuter mask his face as she leads him to a neutered room. 

Zhenya gasps as he sits down. His whole body is shaking and he squeezes his eyes shut. Malin sets a water bottle in his hands and pulls away the mask before she encourages him to sip slowly.

"What happened, Zhenya?" She asks softly as his shaking slows. Zhenya shakes his head and continues sipping the water. 

They can hear the muffled sounds of the crowd and no matter how much Zhenya wants to rush back onto stage he knows the break before the encore is about to start. 

On cue, Sasha, Nicki, and Patric rush into the room. Patric kneels next to Zhenya, lifting his face up and studying him closely. He starts mumbling under his breath as he turns Zhenya's face side to side to better see something.

"He said something was off when we first got here." Sasha says suddenly. "He's been pale all day."

"He may just need to run, Sash. The moon is getting high," Nicki adds from his spot against the door. "Zhenya, can you come back onstage to finish this up?" Zhenya inhales deeply. He places the empty water bottle down and moves to his feet.

His wolf is pacing so close to his skin, it feels like his skin has shrunk two sizes too small. His wolf begs to shift and run and chase down the haunting smell to shake the unease that has sat on his shoulders since they arrived in Pittsburgh. There's also a part of him that thinks he should call it a night: to just strip and rush out into the night. However, he knows he has to run with Patric's connection or he may enter the wrong area and start a fight. He couldn't manage a fight right now. 

So he rolls his shoulders back, sets a firm look on his face and nods at Nicki.

"We go. Then we run." 

The moment the arena goes dark, Zhenya is pulled off stage again, this time by Sasha who is talking rapidly in Russian. He is trying to keep Zhenya present long enough to get to the back room and find Carl. Carl, who has brought nearly half the Pittsburgh Penguins roster with him, most of whom have already shifted.

Zhenya acknowledges them briefly before turning to Nicki and raising his eyebrow. Nicki looks back at Patric, who slides an arm over Carl's shoulders. "Who all is running with us tonight?"

Carl points at each of the wolves. He names off Matt Murray, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Brian Dumoulin, Jamie Oleksiak, Tristan Jarry, Kris Letang, Marc-André Fleury, and Pascal Dupuis. A part of Zhenya is fanboying at being in their presence, but a much larger part just wants to get out of his clothes, out of his skin, and feel the wind in his fur. 

"Your captain didn't want to join?" Patric asks as he scans the wolves. Carl shakes his head.

"He had to leave earlier. Cap likes his beauty sleep." 

Patric shrugs before sending an apologetic look towards Zhenya. Patric quickly introduces the band and then rips his mostly destroyed shirt off his chest. He grins at Carl's bemused expression before dropping trou and shifting. The rest of the humans follow suit and shift. 

Zhenya can feel the flash of relief in his wolf as his front paws hit the ground. He starts breathing hard, scenting the air to familiarize himself with those he will be running with.

Malin opens the door and allows Carl to lead the pack through the tunnels and outside. He leads them along the river, across a bridge, and into a forest. It’s there that Zhenya bursts forward at mach speed, pressing himself to run as fast as possible. 

He breaks away from the pack, his blood singing to the moon. His nose scents the air frequently. The on-edge feeling is overwhelmed by the rush of the run and as he breaks through a dense cluster of bushes, he throws his head back and howls. 

He cuts off his howl abruptly when he hears another set of paws approaching. He spins in the direction of the noise and pull himself up into a defensive, but commanding pose. His long legs splay out far enough to make his frame seem larger then it is. 

Zhenya pauses as a burst of wind pushes towards him. His nose twitches at the strength of the scent he had only caught whispers of previously. He is unable to stop the whimper that comes as he keeps scenting the air, hungry for more of the rich musk with notes of honey and sweetness. 

He feels his chest heaving as his paws root themselves to the ground. His inhales become deeper and deeper and his head becomes lighter. 

A whimper comes from the brush and Zhenya opens his mouth to try and taste the scent, hoping that by staying still the other wolf will come forward. His mind isolates the different notes of the scent, an instinct buried deep whispering the obvious fact that the scent belongs to a primed omega. The instinct demands that he claim and mate and catch and pup. Zhenya snarls at his inner instinct, keeping it far back from the surface. 

A black wolf enters the clearing, his nose in the air and following a scent Zhenya can only guess is his own. The wolf's mouth is opened slightly as their chest heaves deeply with every pull. 

A mirror image of Zhenya. 

They stop a few feet away from Zhenya, head lowering to take in Zhenya's wolf. There's a strong push of want and playfulness from the other wolf, an acknowledgement of Zhenya as alpha. Of Zhenya as a threat, both for danger and pleasure. Zhenya’s instinct spikes and he cannot help the press of dominating want he sends towards the other wolf. 

The omega wolf narrows their eyes at Zhenya, who understands the challenge. He lowers his front paws so he is bowing to the other wolf, his nose still pulling in the scent as he keeps his hindquarters in the air and wags his tail happily. 

The omega wolf's pupils have fully dilated as they fully lower themselves to the ground. Zhenya yips and bounces back a few feet before lowering his front again. The omega rears onto their back paws and paws at the air before falling forward onto their paws. They jerk their head to the side and push a challenge towards Zhenya. 

Zhenya may be considered a fool by many but he could never turn down a challenge. 

The omega takes off and Zhenya rushes after them. 

The omega is leading them on a chase. Zhenya follows close behind, indulging in the strength of the omega's scent and pressing closer. 

The omega jumps behind a tree suddenly and Zhenya slows to a stop, his nose in the air breathing in the scent. He swears he can feel the scent embedding itself in his DNA and he has no qualms about it. He wants the omega to feel the same way. 

There's a sliver of the moon coming through the branches above. Zhenya feels a shiver run through him at the thought of chasing somebody this delicious under such a bright moon and how much his band pack would laugh at his romantic tendencies. If only the omega knew. 

Zhenya wants the omega to know.

A cold nose presses against his balls, Zhenya tenses up before he hears and feels the deep inhale. He turns his head back to see the wolf, much thicker then him but shorter and more compact, scenting at him. Zhenya takes this as a sign and takes a few careful steps to bring his nose closer to the omega's tail. 

He sniffs at the omega's rear. The scent is so much stronger near their leaking hole. 

Zhenya stops himself from grinning, overly proud about this omega presenting themselves to him in such a state. He allows his muzzle to press closer to the thin hairs that grow thicker the closer to the omega’s testicles he gets. 

As he sniffs at the omega, happy to stay in this moment the rest of his life, Zhenya is pulled out by a set of teeth closing gently but firmly around his tail. He yips in surprise and turns around to find the wolf in a playful position and still holding onto his tail. 

Zhenya whips around, pouncing on the other wolf's side and pressing a feeling of victory toward them. The omega pushes back a feeling of being unimpressed before rolling out from under Zhenya and rearing onto their hind legs.

Zhenya rears onto his hind legs, clearly longer then the omega, and cannot stop his wolfish grin and a feeling of smugness from leaking out of him. The omega falls forward onto all fours and darts away from Zhenya. 

There's a rustle of brush, and in the distance a howl is starting. There is no call in his own bones to join in, only to continue this flirtation. 

The moment of hesitation is broken by a strong body crashing into Zhenya's side and throwing him to the ground. He snarls at his attacker but stops when he sees the wolf hovering over him with their black muzzle pulled back in a daring snarl. The golden-hazel eyes are watching him closely. Zhenya pulls his muscles tight before launching himself at the other wolf, bringing them to the ground. They snarl and bite at each other as they take turns pushing the other on their back and pinning them down.

Zhenya surprises the omega by kicking out with his hind legs and the omega lands heavily on their back. Zhenya leaps on top the wolf. Legs planted around the omega's prone body, then leans forward, opening his muzzle to bare his teeth and closing them around the other wolf's throat. He can feel their heart racing and blood pounding under his teeth. The omega snarls once more as they squirm to see about escaping. Zhenya gently flexes his jaw.

The omega whimpers as their body stills. Zhenya pulls back and eyes them momentarily before licking at their muzzle. He receives a lick back and then an urge for fingers and skin and he's unsure who is sending and who is receiving, but he is not about to refuse.

He pulls his wolf back, allowing himself to be human. He's unable to look at the omega's human face as lips are pressed against his immediately. There are fingers digging into his hair and pulling him closer. Gasps and moans coming from both of them as they press together.

Zhenya deepens the kiss as he feels his own erection brush against the omega's. A guttural groan vibrates from Zhenya into the omega, his hand tracing down the strong torso to feel the well defined muscles in the omega's hips and thighs. He pulls the thigh under him up and pulls back to press a kiss to the warm flesh in his hands.

He looks back up to see the omega's head thrown back, neck bared in presentation. He grumbles at his instinct pressing him to mark and claim. Instead he leans forward to suck and lick the bared neck, enjoying the whimpers he draws out of the omega.

He pulls back to watch his hand slide down the omega's muscular thigh to find their leaking hole. He slowly traces the rim and smirks as he watches the omega's dick twitch. A high pitched keen comes from the omega, whose head has rolled to the side, face still hidden from Zhenya. 

He waits as he traces the hole, pulling his fingers away to bring to his mouth. He groans as he realizes the omega tastes better then they smell. 

"Please." The omega gasps as Zhenya's fingers brush their hole again. His free hand is busy holding open the omega's thighs, thumb tracing the dip near the defined hip bone. Zhenya hopes vaguely that the omega enjoys his body as much as he is enjoying theirs. 

"Yes?" Zhenya asks for clarification as he swipes his fingers through the slick and shivers as he rubs it over his dick.

The omega slaps the ground and then moves to sit up, stopping as Zhenya presses his hand at their hip. Zhenya freezes as he makes eye contact with the omega. He knows the face, but recognition does not flicker behind the blown pupils of the eyes staring at him. 

"Please," Sidney Crosby gasps as he reaches a hand out to grab at Zhenya's neck to bring him closer to his face. "I need you," Sidney pants against Zhenya's lips. Zhenya kisses him firmly as he readjusts his lower body and guides his dick into Sidney. He pulls back to watch the way Sidney's eyes roll back as he gasps and takes Zhenya into his body. 

Zhenya's head falls onto Sidney's shoulder. He pants and tries to collect himself before he starts kissing Sidney's neck down to his collarbone. Then he feels a kick to his ass as Sidney tightens his legs around Zhenya's hips to press him forward. The groan that rips from his chest as he feels the muscular thighs tightening around him is unstoppable and he hears a huff of amusement come from Sidney. Fingers pulling at his shoulders as Sidney’s amused huff turns into a groan.

Zhenya starts to thrust his hips and buries his nose into Sidney's throat. He groans as he grinds his hips each time he bottoms out, shivering as the nerve endings in his knot light up. 

Sidney is gasping and panting under him, hands grasping at Zhenya's back and shoulders, his head lolling backwards and baring his neck again. A sharp inhale comes from Sidney before he tightens his legs around Zhenya. Both Zhenya and his wolf have a moment of wishing to never leave this moment. 

"There!" Sidney demands. Zhenya groans into Sidney's skin but angles his hips to find the spot Sidney is calling 'there'. 

He hits it after a couple of thrusts and Sidney rolls his head to the side with a low whine. Zhenya sucks on whatever skin is closest to his mouth as he keeps thrusting. Sidney grunts and stiffens under Zhenya, his fingers digging tightly into his shoulders. Then the muscles around Zhenya’s dick start rippling and pulling him deeper. His wolf snarls and pants as he moves at his own jerky pace.

Sidney starts shaking underneath Zhenya, grabbing roughly at Zhenya's back and arms as he whimpers and pants through what feels like a never ending orgasm. Zhenya presses his forehead to Sidney's collarbone and starts thrusting harder, the slick snap and pop of his firming knot sinking inside Sidney getting louder. 

Zhenya pulls his hips back and thrusts hard enough for Sidney to lose his grip on Zhenya's forearms. He feels himself sink completely inside Sidney's hole and the pain of his knot swelling in too tight of an area. His first reaction is to jerk back which earns him increased rippling and shaking from a whimpering Sidney. Then his body jerks forward as he roars through his own orgasm.

Distantly he can hear Sidney yelp and there's a strong tang of sweat and skin in his mouth. However a sense of relief washes over him as he presses his lips and tongue to the mark he left on Sidney's collarbone. He didn't break the skin and a part of his mind is proud of him. The other part demands sleep.  
***

Sidney is sore and still full with a heavy weight on him. He runs his hands through the head of hair resting on his chest. He starts to take a mental inventory of the aches and pains. Clearly, having sex in the middle of the forest mid-season was not the smartest idea. He shifts his hips and notices that the alpha is still inside him, even though he’s soft. He groans and tries to think of how long he was asleep as he slowly shifts himself out from under the alpha. 

The alpha reaches out sleepily to grab at Sidney, but is easily soothed when Sidney takes the alpha’s arm and slides it under his own head as a pillow. The movement gives him the opportunity to lean back and look at the alpha. 

There’s a hazy memory of recognition when he had finally seen the alpha in his skin. His wolf had been strong and powerful, with a scent that Sidney had not smelled before. He is almost ashamed of how easily he rolled over for the alpha. As he takes in the sleep slack face, he finds his gaze getting stuck on the kiss bitten lips. He pulls his gaze away and notices the scratch marks along the alpha’s back and the finger print shaped bruises on his triceps. 

A furl of pride swells in Sidney’s wolf at how thoroughly marked he left the alpha. Sidney stands up at that thought and shakes his head, internally chastising his wolf for the indecent behavior. 

“Where do I know you from?” Sidney asks out loud. He stops and brings his hand to his throat as he hears how raw his voice is. Swallowing, Sidney can feel the soreness in his throat and winces through his groan. He knows his team will have a field day when they see him at breakfast. He glances towards the sky and sees a faint light and knows he still has a couple of hours until he needs to be at Flower’s. 

Looking down at the sleeping alpha, Sidney squats down. He allows himself a moment to revel in how sore he is and then reaches out to brush his fingers through the alpha’s hair. His wolf makes a noise similar to a purr under his skin at the contact and Sidney groans at his wolf. “Who?” He grumbles again. The alpha snuffles in his sleep, moving his nose towards Sidney’s wrist. As his nose presses against Sidney’s wrist, he sighs. 

Sidney takes this as a cue that he needs to leave before the alpha awakens. Hopefully he chooses not to sell their shared Howl to the tabloids, but knows that he should probably give Jen a heads up just in case. He stands again and looks back down at the alpha. His wolf starts to whimper as Sidney starts thinking of heading home. He needs to shower and get ready for breakfast with the team. 

He shifts into his fur, his wolf hesitating before turning to lick at the alpha’s face before relenting to Sidney. He sprints out into the forest and tries to ignore the memory of the alpha, even if his body echoes with the aches of a good knotting.

A few hours later he enters Flower’s house, dressed in his usual black polo and basketball shorts. He’s grateful that the hickey is mostly hidden by his shirt collar and the dull ache is not broadcasting to his pack. He takes a moment to breathe and remind himself that nobody can smell that he has bite marks on him. 

As Flower pulls away from their embrace, Sidney reminds himself again that nobody can smell it, even if Flower does have an oddly powerful sense of smell.

“Is there something you want to tell us, Sid?” Flower whispers as he eyes Sidney’s face with a knowing look. Sidney shakes his head before patting Flower’s shoulder and making his way further into the house.

“Where are my favorite pups?” Sidney calls and braces himself for Flower and Tanger’s kids to rush at him. Cath and Tanger are in the kitchen baking and cooking enough for the team. Veronique is sitting at the table with her feet propped up. She looks miserable and glowing at the same time. When she sees Sidney she smiles brightly and motions for him to come closer.

“ _Mes enfants_ , let me see your uncle now.” Scarlett pulls at Sidney’s hand, moving determinedly towards her mother. “ _Merci, ma chou._ ” She brushes her fingers through her daughter’s hair then pats the chair next to her with a grin. Sidney shrugs and sits down. Before his butt has hit the seat he has a lap full of Scarlett, who grins shyly up at her uncle before resting her head against his chest and enjoys being cuddled. 

Sidney sighs in relief. His wolf has been irritable since he had left the alpha this morning and he was worried about his wolf being attached to a one night stand, regardless of how good he smelled. But having Scarlett cuddle with him seems to calm the wolf. 

Veronique is smiling at him with a knowing look. She glances at her daughter who is calmly sucking her thumb while holding on to Sidney’s shirt. “So, how was your Howl last night?” Sidney flinches. He should know that his friends would recognize his wolf.

“You didn’t run last night?” Veronique shakes her head and rubs at her swollen belly. Sidney swears he can see the baby moving underneath her skin.

“He’s almost ready and I know if I shift I won’t shift back until he’s born.” She smiles happily at her belly as she rubs at a particular spot. “ _Mon Andre_ has been informed that if his son does not get out soon, we are going to start his life on the wrong foot and it will be his father’s fault.” Sidney laughs at her serious expression. 

“You laugh, but Sid,” Veronique leans in as though she is sharing a secret. “If you ever catch you will understand what I mean, but the final weeks are agony.” She looks over at Flower who is watching them with a wary smile. Veronique takes the moment to say a little louder, “ _Mon Andre_ has agreed to get the snip so I don’t go through this again.” A plate clatters in the kitchen and Flower drops below the island to grab it with a yelp.

Tanger and Cath laugh heartily. Flower scowls at them as he places the plate in the sink then moves across the room to brush a kiss to Veronique’s forehead. “Please don’t say that around them.” 

Flower picks up Veronique’s empty mug and walks back to the kitchen. “By the way, Haggy is skipping today. Supposedly his friend from _pizza mawzgee_ is keeping him plenty busy.” Flower chuckles as he makes a clawing motion at Tanger, who is making a blow job gesture with a giant smirk. Sidney refuses to smirk at Flower’s exaggerated mispronunciation of the visiting band’s name.

Veronique pulls out her phone and starts tapping at the screen. “Which one is his friend? I know you said the blonde Swedish one, but there are two of them.” She holds out the screen with an image of the band looking seriously at something in the distance. Sidney grabs the phone from Veronique and stares at the tall, dark haired man leaning his arm on the shoulder of a stocky blond man with a giant smile. The tall man has dark hair that Sidney knows is soft to the touch because he had run his fingers through it just this morning. He hands the phone back to Veronique and shrugs. 

“Knowing Hags, probably the guy with the shit-eating grin,” Sidney suggests, trying to play off the moment of recognition. He brushes his fingers over the fabric covering the bite mark on his collar bone. There’s extra warmth there and Sidney wonders if that is his own imagination or if a bite that never broke skin could be infected.

**February**

Zhenya is constantly so tired. Their travel schedule is nothing new, but Zhenya cannot find the motivation to write and he wants nothing more then to sleep longer and longer each day. His temperature starts to spike and he walks around in a constant sweaty state. His band pack keeps watching him worriedly. 

Malin shows him the reddit theories after he starts freezing on stage. His mind randomly goes blank as his nose fills with the phantom scent of the omega from last month. 

Zhenya doesn’t tell them about his wolf refusing to interact with him. He feels like a chain has been placed on his own ankle where he cannot reach his wolf. His mind aches for his fur. When he shifts, his wolf forces the shift to reverse as soon as necessary. Nobody has commented on how infrequently he is in his fur.

On a travel day, Patric plops down in Zhenya’s bunk with a concerned smile before pulling out his laptop to show the Penguins game in Nashville. There’s an intermission interview where Potash talks with a sweaty and short of breath Sidney Crosby. Zhenya growls at the voice. His wolf sends a spike of anger and pulls further away. Zhenya is unsure if he should be finding more of Sidney Crosby to further agitate his wolf, or to avoid him at all costs because it’s not just his wolf who reacts to the man’s presence. His heart aches at the reminder of the rejection.

By the third week of February, they are on their sixteenth city and Zhenya has developed a worrying schedule of sleeping, eating, sweating from the constant heat, sleeping, traveling, sleeping, performing, reviewing media comments, sleeping, and wishing the scent would stop haunting him. 

Zhenya wants the pattern to end as he curls up at the back of the bus. He wonders if he should start looking for a medical explanation. His wolf is sulking and offers no suggestions.  
***

“Sid, what the hell is going on?” Tanger and Kuni sit on either side of Sidney in the locker room. “This is the fifth time you’ve dropped gloves.” Tanger states with a look of concern.

“This month alone, Cap.” Kuni adds. 

“Nothing is going on, guys. I can see your concern, but nothing is going on.” He forces a smile. He pushes himself to his feet and heads towards the showers.

His stomach rumbles with hunger.

He groans as he stares at his stomach in shock. He’s hungry in a way he hasn’t felt since his first few years in the NHL. While he is not sure exactly what the reason is, the nutritionist has been excited that he’s putting back on a healthy amount of weight especially as they start to prepare to enter the playoff push. He wonders if the disconnect with his wolf is playing into the hunger. 

Life outside of hockey becomes almost too much. Sidney finds himself seeking out more time at the rink even for himself. He balances times with his pack, going on runs with the team and taking their good natured chirps about his scent in stride. 

As the weeks pass, Sidney watches the marks leave his skin. The bite mark never festers, although it feels like it should have. It fades into the appropriate bruising shades before returning to Sidney’s pale flesh color. The problem is that he can still feel it; that it throbs at the oddest times and there’s no medical reasoning they can find to explain why.

He wonders if he should call his mother, but he knows he would need to explain and… just…not to his mother. Explain to her that he left an alpha sleeping and since then his wolf has been distant? No. His wolf has worked with Sidney, but there’s a disconnect that he cannot find a way to bridge and it _hurts_. Almost as much as the throbbing spot on his collarbone.

He chooses to forget all this as he slips back into his gear and gets ready to hit the ice. 

**March**

Zhenya is livid. 

He’s leaning against the balcony in Montreal in the middle of March, fuming. The doctors cannot tell him what is going on. They keep saying he is imagining the fatigue, the irritability, and the phantom scent. They cannot explain away the fever though.

The only time a doctor suggested something other than nothing going on was one that wanted to keep him on a safety hold in Columbus. He’s still not sure if that was because of his symptoms or because Dubinsky still had a problem with him refusing to join the Columbus pack. 

He just wants to feel the cold, but all he can feel is the heat that has been burning under his skin since they left Pittsburgh. The on-edge feeling had not stopped after his Howl, and he couldn’t bear to face Sidney Crosby about their shared Howl. Nor did he want to hear his band pack’s comments about the marks left on him. Only Malin had realized what had happened and instantly urged all the others to stop their taunting.

“Whoever they were, to leave without waking you up,” she had shaken her head with disgust. “They don’t deserve you,” she had whispered the next time they were alone. Zhenya knew she had meant well, but her words had only stoked the rejection that his wolf was holding onto. After that, his wolf had barely made itself known unless Zhenya was forced to shift into his fur. Even then his wolf was eager to return to skin far too quickly for his liking. 

He hasn’t even been able to watch a Penguins game or follow up on the scores since they left, which is probably for the best because Zhenya never wants to return to Pittsburgh. 

He is done with that city.

 

His head aches as he leans his head against the snow covered railing. He feels none of the cold though, his body running so hot. 

Zhenya had come out to try and calm down after the band had a discussion about all the attention regarding Zhenya’s random departures and freezes. Somebody had tried linking his behavior to rut, showing pictures of him on stage in Pittsburgh. His nostrils had been flared and he gleamed with sweat. He hasn’t had to leave the stage in the past 15 concerts, but there were a few times he had come close. Not because of the smell, though. The scent — Sidney’s scent — had no rhyme or reason to its appearance. He could be in the middle of wrestling Patric and suddenly be frozen, overcome by the smell and taste. 

Patric was worried.

Nicki was worried.

Sasha was furious.

Sasha had wanted answers the minute he realized that Zhenya wasn’t getting better. He had been the one to start researching doctors, trying desperately to find someone to help Zhenya. 

“ _You not needing a jacket is still terrifying, Zhenka,_ ” Sasha murmurs in Russian as he steps onto the balcony. He’s wrapped up in his own thick jacket and beanie and eyeing Zhenya’s short sleeves and bare feet with frustration. “ _It makes no sense._ ” 

“ _I know, Sasha. You don’t think I’m over this? That I don’t want to understand what’s going on?_ ” Zhenya throws his hands in the air and growls as he turns and leans his back against the railing. “ _I just want answers._ ”

They stand quietly for a moment, allowing the noises of Montreal to wash over them. The concert earlier that night had been good and they need to head out on the bus at dawn to make their way to Buffalo.

Sasha leans his head against Zhenya’s shoulder and hands him a stick. Zhenya looks down at the proffered stick with confusion. As he takes it, he stares at the pink lines then blinks before looking back up at Sasha.

“ _Are you?_ ” Sasha’s face splits into a huge grin and Zhenya cannot stop the tears that come to his eyes as he pulls Sasha into a hug and presses a kiss to his temple. “ _I’m so happy for you, Sasha. I know how much you two have wanted to catch even with the Neuters._ ” He pauses and groans. “ _I’ve heard you both trying for far too long. This isn’t going to deter you is it?_ ” 

“ _Oh, Zhenya, my poor delusional friend,_ ” Sasha chuckles and starts to pull away, “ _come inside. We have good news and Nishka and I want to have a drink with family. Don’t give me that look; you know I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize my pups._ ”

Zhenya rolls his eyes skyward. “ _You don’t know if you have multiples yet. It’s far too early._ ” 

“ _Yes but Nicki has the best sperm and I have the best eggs so of course we have to make multiples to have the best litter!_ ” 

“Sasha!” Nicki calls from the suite’s living room. “Stop traumatizing Zhenya and get in here. Your cocoa is getting cool.” 

The next evening they are back in their fur and bowing to the Buffalo territory representatives. Eichel and Skinner are friendly and thorough enough, yet in a quick manner such that Zhenya does not have enough time to become upset about the American custom. 

They move quickly into the city center to leave their bus at the arena, then head to the hotel suite, Nicki grumbling about Sasha turning into a popsicle once they arrive. Sasha has refused to wear a shirt since the minute he discovered he had caught successfully. 

Zhenya is unsure who, between Patric and Sasha, is worse about their lack of clothing. They both give Zhenya a hard time about modesty since they so frequently stand buck naked in front of strangers after shifting to their skins. This was different though. 

Nicki pats Sasha’s flat stomach and presses a kiss to his shoulder. “The only reason your stomach is getting bigger is because you keep eating. Our pup is not growing that quick.” Sasha huffs and stretches across the couch, kicking his feet into Zhenya’s lap. 

“ _Get your nasty feet off me. Were you raised in a barn?_ ” Zhenya snaps in brusque Russian before he knocks Sasha’s feet off his lap. Nicki snarls and pulls Sasha more fully onto his lap.

Zhenya snarls back. He stands from the couch and fumes in Nicki’s direction. Patric quickly grabs Zhenya’s arm and leads him out of the living room and into the kitchen. Handing Zhenya a class of cool water, Patric leans against the counter and levels him with a knowing look. 

“We need to find somebody who can actually help you. This is going to become an issue if your mood swings are faster than those of the knocked up omega in the other room.” Patric sighs heavily as Zhenya glares at him over the rim of the water glass. “I’m going to reach out to Haggy and see if he knows anybody who can help. He’s been everywhere and if there’s somebody — anywhere — we need to get you there.” Zhenya grumbles and nods in agreement. 

A few hours later, Zhenya is strumming his guitar next to Sasha on the edge of the stage and staring out at the empty arena. They are quiet as their instruments create a synchronicity between them that Zhenya’s mood has been getting in the way of. 

When the arena is filled and the energy of the fans is coursing through Zhenya’s veins, he is able to shake off the lightheaded feeling along with the ache in his muscles that begs for both a reprieve and a month of sleep. He wonders briefly if wolves are supposed to hibernate. 

They are three songs into the set when Zhenya catches the scent again. He glances around the arena just in case, but the Sabres are on a roadtrip as of this morning so no visiting teams would be in the building. Zhenya shakes his head slowly, snorting quickly in an attempt to be rid of the haunting scent. 

He must shake his head too quickly. He’s not sure why everything feels like it is spinning. He can feel his wolf becoming alert, and he has just enough time to think about how bad it must be if this is what it takes for his wolf to leave its rage-induced sulk. 

When Zhenya collapses onstage, the gasp that fills the arena seems to suck the air and noise from the building. 

Sasha and Nicki drop their instruments and rush over to check his breathing as Patric hollers backstage for a medic and Malin. Sasha and Nicki help the medic move Zhenya onto a stretcher and quickly follow them out through the bowels of the building to the loading zone and into an ambulance.

Patric stays long enough to make an apologetic announcement to the arena and that there will be an official statement released once they know more. He turns and grabs Malin as they rush offstage, stripping down to their skins before pushing the closest door to the outside open, dropping into their fur, and rushing towards the hospital.

**

Sidney's next shift takes him quickly over to the boards on Flower's glove hand side. His stomach churns as he pushes towards the puck, his eyes scanning all the players briefly. He steps on his forward foot, sliding onto his outside edge as he slips between the two Stars players going for the puck. He exhales as the puck rolls along the blade of his stick as he pushes his edge into a tight turn and rushes behind the net before passing the puck up towards Jake at the top of the circle. 

Just as Sidney pulls around the net, he hears a stream of French coming from Flower. At the same moment, he feels a body crash into his side, pressing him up and into the boards.

His stomach lurches in an unpleasant way. Nothing feels settled and he has to fight the urge to curl in on himself, his breathing uneven. He lands on his feet and shakes his head quickly.

For just a moment, he allows himself a breath before he shoves back at the green jersey getting in his way. He starts to move towards the Pens bench, passing the Stars' first line as they hop over the boards. 

He's about to step into the doorway, when the back of his jersey is yanked with such force that he slides backward, before being swung with his back against the boards between the benches. He grimaces at the idea of hearing Pierre's comments on this move. 

There's a whistle on the ice just as he hears a deep inhale near his face. Sidney is unsure who has him in a hold until they start to speak.

"You can't do this. Why are you out here? You don't do this. How fucking dare you!" Tyler Seguin pulls back, his eyes unsettled with the strong wolf pacing behind their furious gaze. "Why are you doing this to them?" He demands in a raspy voice, bare hands grasping at Sidney's jersey and shaking him with every question. He looks off. Sidney cannot place it, he knows a fight isn’t being started, but Seguin looks like a bit wild with his accusations. He leaves his hands at his side as he wills Seguin to hear him.

"Tyler, what's going on? Doing what?" Sidney asks calmly, trying to avoid the extra layer of captain in his tone. He doesn't get an answer before the linesman gets his arm between them. A moment later, Seguin's head is gently but forcibly turned towards Jamie Benn. 

Benn has his hand buried in the hair at the base of Seguin's neck. A dominant act that is not usually shown on ice, especially between team leadership. "Ty, c'mon, let him go. Croz hasn't done anything." Benn takes his free hand to cover one of Seguin's fists, slowly working the jersey from his grip. 

"No! He can’t! Jamie, he can't do this!"

Seguin's face pinches in anger as he tries to jerk his head from Benn's grip. Benn steadies him with a look before pulling Seguin's face to his neck. Sidney can’t hold back his gasp at such an intimate display. 

"That's it, bud, take a slow breath with me now. We're in the middle of a game. Gonna send you down to Neuter with Rick. Help you settle a bit more." Benn rests his helmet against the top of Seguin's while glancing back at Sidney. "We'll talk after the game," He quickly adds a whisper of "I love you" to Seguin.

Sidney's eyes dart between Benn's steady expression and the sudden slack in Seguin's posture, as though the words and scent mixed together had taken the fight out of him. The Stars’ medic is at Seguin's elbow and gently pulls him away from Benn. There's a low whimper from both players as they're separated. Benn turns to Sidney with a nod and offers his hand.

"After the game we will come find you to explain better." Sidney shakes Benn's hand with a nod, then watches as Benn skates over to his head coach to fill him in. Sidney successfully climbs onto his bench and avoids the curious looks of his teammates. 

A Stars player goes to the box to sit Seguin's delay of game penalty and the second power play unit goes over the boards. Sully is behind Sidney with a gentle hand on his shoulder; a strong but silent presence to allow him to re-center.

They don't need much more after that incident, so early in the third. Flower finds a new level and is bouncing all over to stop any puck coming his way. Sidney’s linemates press hard to be in position for each of their shifts. By the end of the third, a game tied at 2 becomes 4-2 in favor of the Penguins. 

The buzzer sounding at the end of the game is a relief. Jen announces that Sidney is skipping media and heading to check in with the team MD. Dr. Vyas is waiting with a smile. 

"We just need to run some tests," Vyas hums as he places a couple of blood vials on the table. Sidney sighs heavily before stripping off his upper gear and body armor. Sidney glances at Vyas who had inhaled sharply and is breathing more shallowly now that Sidney's sweat-soaked skin is bared.

"Doc, you ok?" Sidney asks carefully. Vyas nods and shrugs. 

"Have you noticed anything different since your last Howl?" Sidney shrugs but takes a moment to think.

"The guys have made jokes about my scent, but that's not that unusual. I’ve been hungrier, but I’ve also changed my training a bit." He pauses for a moment, his hand drifting up to his collarbone. The old bruise is gone, but the skin still aches. Nothing’s changed that has impacted his game; nothing that will impact his game. As he thinks, his stomach churns abruptly and he's grateful he is sitting already. He can feel his wolf tensing and wanting to hide the weakness. He wonders if they can fix this disconnect, but knows this is not a situation for Vyas.

When he looks back up, Vyas is placing one of the vials filled with red blood on the counter and watching Sidney carefully. "I might have a stomach bug,” Sidney says, “no vomiting, although I've definitely wanted to. But it doesn't act up that often."

Vyas nods understandingly before grabbing the cotton ball. He cleans up and bandages the blood draw site. Sidney watches him to try and see what he is putting together. 

"Well we will have results and let you know if anything is out of the norm. For right now, maybe avoid drinking with the boys. We aren't sure what set Seguin off and if it has to do with your scent, we want you aware enough to get away from people who aren't being self aware." Sidney nods begrudgingly. It’s the same kind of talk he always heard growing up in the pack back in Cole Harbor when it came to packs in larger territories. 

Grabbing his gear, he thanks Vyas and makes his way to the change room and showers. They're mostly empty now. Only Tanger, Flower, and Duper are still present, which doesn't surprise Sidney much.

He drops his used jersey and socks in the appropriate bins, his gear at his stall and strips his UnderArmour and socks off to put in the wash bag before adding that to the wash bin. Grabbing a towel, he flicks Flower with the end as he passes by, smiling at the yelp and glare he earns.

In the shower, Sidney allows the hot water to ease the tension in his shoulders. He sighs dramatically and places his head on the tile. 

As his head touches the tile he feels a rush of heat flush his chest. His collarbone throbs like an infected wound, but the skin is only warm under his touch. He runs his fingertips gently over the spot, trying to massage out the sensation that is only growing stronger. Then his stomach twists sharply, knocking the air out of him and bringing him to his knees. 

"Fuck," he mutters as he pulls himself back up. There's a restlessness forming under his skin. His wolf is pacing, he knows he will need to run soon and wonders if he can convince the guys to go with him. 

"Sid," Flower's voice is stern, but cautious from the doorway. " _Ça va?_ " 

"Yeah, just finishing up." Turning off the water, he grabs his towel and roughly dries himself as he walks back into the locker room, his slides making an uncomfortable, wet plastic suction sound. He throws the towel around his neck and stops abruptly as he notices that standing by his stall are Benn and Seguin. The French trio stands guard by Flower's stall.

"Uh, hey, Segs. Benn." Sidney hesitates before stepping into the change room to slip into his game day suit. He steps back out holding his jacket, shoes, and socks and grumbling to himself about his pants feeling tighter. 

"I spoke with Mario before coming in here. He was all right with it. Wants to make sure there's no bad blood after the…" Seguin inhales and glances back at Benn, who squeezes his arm around his shoulders. "…incident on the ice." 

Sidney nods and smiles before sitting in his stall and gesturing for them to sit in Jake and Pascal's. Benn sits, but Seguin chooses to stand at Benn's side, a hand on his shoulder as Benn slips his arm around Seguin's waist. Sidney glances back at his friends who are watching unobtrusively.

"When did you catch, Sid?" Seguin asks abruptly, never known for being discreet. "Why are you still playing if you're pupping?" Sidney reels backwards in shock and glances between Benn and Seguin in disbelief. 

"I haven't caught, Segs. I’m not sure what makes you think you'd know before I do, but I definitely haven't." Seguin and Benn share a knowing look before focusing on Sidney. 

"Your scent has changed." Benn nods in agreement with Seguin. A flurry of emotions cross Seguin's face before he exhales heavily. "You did catch, but it's not stable and you're risking the pup by still playing." 

Sidney feels the wolf bristling under his skin, the tiny hairs along his spine standing stiff at the accusation. Taking a breath, he tries to talk his wolf down. He promises a run tonight to let out this mix of emotions. He glances back towards his friends and sees they've all gone still, each one focusing on a different person in the impromptu gathering. 

"This is ridiculous," Sidney starts, but stops when he hears a low growl coming from Benn. All eyes shift to the normally quiet alpha. He remains seated, but his fingers have tightened their hold on Seguin, who brushes a finger over Benn's jawline. 

"Just listen to him, Sidney." He closes his eyes before looking back at Sidney. His eyes are pure wolf, allowing no argument. Sidney's own wolf is enraged at being ordered around in his own locker room. 

"Croz, do you remember at the start of the season when I left after a bad boarding call against the Wild, and this buffoon lead our entire team into the penalty box to defend me?" Seguin is cautious as he watches Sidney. Benn leans his head to rest against Seguin's hip and slowly rubs his cheek against Seguin's belt. 

Sidney nods as he watches their interaction closely, then looks towards his friends. Tanger has a hand on Flower and Duper's shoulders, his eyes wary. Sidney feels his heart start to inch into his stomach. The throbbing, infected feeling in his collarbone fades in importance as the anxiety in the room increases.

"I didn't know I had caught when Jamie and I first Howled together." There's a low whimper that comes from deep in Seguin's chest as he pauses. Benn pulls him in tighter while making a low humming sound. "I hadn't said anything to anybody — didn't know there was anything _to_ say. Jamie kept commenting about my scent being off-kilter and me being warmer. But I never talked about the weird gymnastics my stomach would do. How the wolf always felt like a full moon was coming over when a new moon was in the sky.”

"That hit," Seguin pauses again, "that hit did something. Made my body unhospitable. Or something. Whatever it did, I lost the pup. I didn't even know they were there and I lost them and —" Seguin's eyes are wet with unshed tears. Sidney recoils along with his wolf at the pain rolling off Seguin and Benn, even as Benn remains stoic. "You smell the same. I saw your face when Klinger ran into you. You didn't even know that your wolf slipped for a second. Jordie was the one who said something to Jamie, but I was already hopping the boards to find you because I don't want you to sit with that guilt. And I don't want the media to be able to hold that against you. Nobody should feel this way if they can avoid it." 

Seguin holds Sidney's gaze, his only movement to push his fingers into Jamie's hair and slowly scratch at his scalp. Sidney sighs slowly.

"I-thank you, Tyler. Jamie." Sidney makes sure to push as much gratitude in his words as possible. "I can check with our Doc about it, but I appreciate that you shared this with me. I'm so sorry for your loss too." He stands slowly, making sure to broadcast his every movement so as not to shock either of them. He reaches out and pulls Seguin into a hug, feeling Benn pull away as Seguin returns the embrace. 

They exchange a few goodbyes before Sidney walks them to the door of the locker room. He pauses when they leave and turns toward his friends. They nod in encouragement before Duper starts to lead them to the parking garage. 

"I'll let Carol Lynne know we're going for a run as soon as we park. Get in. You can all run home afterwards and I can drive you to practice tomorrow." 

They pile into the car in silence. Sidney's skin is too tight. His collarbone throbs intensely. He starts to pull at his tie and has his jacket off before they're out of the garage. The wolf is just as anxious as he is — sitting still only revs his anxiety. His hands pull at the buttons on his shirt. 

Flower looks over from the seat next to him and places a hand on Sidney's bouncing knee. Sidney looks up and sees the worry on his friend's face. Flower nods slowly and takes a slow inhale and exhale as a reminder. 

It doesn't settle his anxiety, but it allows him to focus more on getting the buttons undone instead of ripping his shirt. 

By the time they pull into the Dupuis garage, Sidney and Flower have stripped and shifted. Sidney's black wolf with its barrel chest and slightly curled tail flopping anxiously for the door to open. Flower's lean grey wolf ’s black markings around the eyes emphasize his focus on Sidney. 

As soon as Duper parks the car, he opens the side door. "Alright, get. _Kris and I are right behind you._ " 

Sidney leaps out of the car. He can hear a second set of paws turn into three as he throws himself through the garage door, around the playset and off towards the waist-high brick fence. He leaps over it effortlessly and continues his run. 

He tries to shed thoughts of connection between the blood draw, the old bruise, and everything Seguin said with each step. But something is off and he cannot place it. His wolf cannot outrun it but running away has never been their style.

Sidney rushes into a clearing and stops abruptly. Mario's wolf is waiting calmly, his white fur moves gently in the breeze blowing through the clearing. Sidney knows something is not right.

Sidney feels more then hears Flower, Tanger, and Duper stop along his side. Mario steps forward and nudges Sidney's muzzle fondly as any wolf would their pups. 

Sidney doesn't miss the extra long sniff before Mario pulls away.

Mario's thoughts are nonchalant as they echo through the pack bond, thinking of Benn and Seguin with a sense of curiosity and concern. 

Sidney shuts down the concerns with a push of frustration and disagreement. Sidney feels the wary support from his pack beside him.

A soft warmth is pushed towards Sidney with the impression of a blanket and added warmth. Duper shares warily as his grey wolf swishes his tail slowly. 

Flower presses his nose to Sidney's underbelly while projecting images of sun and down blankets and milk and Estelle and Scarlett and James. Sidney pulls away abruptly and glares at Flower, who sits back and shrugs before allowing his tongue to peek from his mouth. 

Tanger's sleek black wolf sits back and watches them. He shares no thoughts. Sidney is unsure of what to make of a quiet Tanger. He pushes a sense of curiosity to him, only to be met with the wolf seeming to block him out. 

Sidney's ears prick up at the faint sound of a distressed howl a few miles away. Mario shifts quickly to his skin.

"Visitors," Mario shares. "It seems one of our guests a few months ago has been ill since leaving our territory and we were the closest friendly territory for them to return to." 

Duper pushes curiosity towards the pack at the same moment Tanger pushes an image of _Ptich'i Mozgi_ — of Sasha screaming into the mic while Nicki and Zhenya have a bass and keyboard conversation. Sidney whimpers softly at the image, avoiding looking at Tanger. He can hear Flower perk up.

"Whatever made Zhenya collapse on stage he caught here?" Flower urges. Sidney tenses in surprise, unsure of what to make of the news. He can feel their surprise at his reaction, a settling confirmation coming from Tanger.

Mario presses an image of Nathalie towards them after he shifts to his fur before turning towards home. He knows the others will follow without question.

***

The house has a few lights illuminating the windows, the porch light is on in the back and a human and wolf are on the grass. The human is seated and staring flatly at the stocky pepper-grey wolf who is pacing and throwing meaningful looks at the human. 

As they get closer, Sidney comes to a halt. It’s Nicklas Backstrom, which means the wolf is either Patric Hornqvist or Aleksandr Ovechkin. He scans the windows quickly for any hints of which band member the wolf could be. He had been trying to hard to ignore any news about the band, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t tried to research the different members to figure out if Zhenya would sell the story. 

There’s a push from Mario at the edge of Sidney's mind, a gentle nudge. Sidney turns to look at Mario who has passed the visitors and is waiting at the porch door with Flower and Duper. Flower is watching Sidney curiously, while Tanger has placed himself between the visitors and Sidney. There can be no misinterpretations about his protective stance: Sidney is not to be bothered. 

"Tanger, what-" Sidney tries to project to his friend, but was met once again with a mental wall. Sidney feels his shoulders slump as he walks slowly toward the porch door.

Mario shifts just as Nathalie opens the door. She is flushed from exertion and wiping her hands on her pants. She leans into Mario's embrace as he nuzzles her forehead. 

"Boys, we have visitors. I need you all to be aware of what's going on." She levels each of them with her gaze, an air of confidence coming from her that speaks beyond her rank in the pack. Sidney can feel the curiosity peak in the group who had remained unshifted.

"I need you to find out who Zhenya interacted with while he was here. He's…" she pauses as she glances behind her and continues without looking back at them. "I'm not sure what it is. Until we have a better idea, I need to keep everybody with small pups or who caught recently away from here. I don't want to jeopardize them when their immune systems are so fragile." 

Flower whimpers softly, his tail swishing along the wood of the porch in a slow motion. 

"Yes, Marc-Andre, go home and be with your wife. Try to think if you've noticed any out of the norm behaviors from others in our territory, especially since the January Howl."

Nathalie turns to Sidney next and allows her shoulders to sag briefly. "Pascal, you and Kris need to come with me. There's a scent of infection on him that I want you both to track. Sidney, you need to stay away. Go with Marc-Andre, or stay at home." Sidney yelps in surprise. "Until you hear back from Vyas, I don't want to chance Seguin being right and allow you to further harm the pup." Sidney growls softly, more in frustration. He is incapable of arguing with Nathalie when he is confused by her orders.

Looking towards Mario, who nods in agreement, Sidney turns and starts back down the steps. He can feel Tanger and Flower flanking him. He spins quickly to glare at Tanger. 

Tanger holds his gaze before sighing heavily. He presses his muzzle to Sidney's underbelly and opens his mind to images of Cath and Alex curling up with himself as Tanger hid away after his slip the previous season. Pain radiates through the connection, so much stronger then any words could share. 

Sidney winces and pushes back with frustration and defensiveness. Tanger slowly shakes his head before looking back at Flower. They all know Flower's nose is the strongest. That he had joyfully sniffed out each of Veronique's catches and rightfully predicted the pup's presentation. 

"Hey,” Sidney looks back at Nicki as he approaches Sidney and his group, the grey wolf at his side. Sidney has to stop himself from tensing as the wolf settles his gaze on him. 

“Nicklas,” Mario steps forward and places a hand on Sidney’s shoulder then reaches out with his other hand to shake Nicki’s. “I hear my mate is keeping yours out of the house until we know what exactly it is that Zhenya is dealing with?” 

“That’s what I want to talk to you about.” Niki slides the grey wolf’s ear in between his fingers, slowly massaging and fidgeting with it. The grey wolf tilts his head into the touch, but doesn’t stop staring at Sidney. “We’ve been in the bus with Zhenya since this all started back in January. We all would have caught something by now if it were contagious. I don’t think our pup will be in danger and I don’t want Sasha to be dealing with the stress of not knowing, especially when we don’t know how long we will be here.” 

“Let me see my pack out and then we can see if we can talk with Nathalie.” Mario squeezes Sidney’s shoulder and starts pulling him towards the side yard.  
**  
Sidney groans as he leans into a stretch. His hamstrings and lower back have been more sensitive lately and the stretch hurts so good. Flower is hula hooping nearby while Tanger is sitting on a stationary bike, his feet propped on the handlebars and his arms behind his head as he leans back against the wall and watches the Sharks destroy the Kings. 

"I’m so glad we have a more interesting rivalry than the west coast," Tanger grouses. "What even was that pinch, Burns? Go back to being a winger, you louse! Don't even know how you got a Norris."

"I can feel your jealousy all the way over here," Flower chirps good naturedly. "Maybe you should change up your game," he suggests before diving behind a work bench.

Tanger throws himself off the bike and stalks towards Flower, muttering darkly in French as he closes in. He grabs Flower by the back of his shirt and pulls him into a headlock.

" _Oh God, you smell! Don't you know how to wash?_ " Sidney chuckles as he watches his friends sink into a wrestling match. 

A throat clears nearby and Sidney looks towards the door where Mike is standing. "Hey, Sid. Jim and I need to speak with you. Got a minute?"

Sidney nods and pulls himself to his feet. Grabbing a Gatorade bottle and leaves his friends to wrestle, he follows Mike down the hall towards the meeting rooms. Mike holds the door open for him and Sidney pauses just after stepping in.

Seated at the table are Jim, Dr. Vyas, Jen, and Mario. Mario has a seat open next to him and Sidney slides into it while trying to not show how shaken he is by the large group in attendance.

Mike sits down next to Jim and sighs. "Sidney, this isn't easy. Before we start we need you to understand that everybody in this room is being held to the strictest of confidence." 

Sidney leans back in his chair and looks from face to face. They all look back at him encouragingly. 

"With that being said," Mike gestures towards Dr. Vyas, "after the Seguin incident the other day, you had a blood draw. Dr. Vyas' findings are what prompted this meeting. Doc?" Dr. Vyas nods and passes a sheet of paper to Sidney with a couple of medical words and numbers. A particular set is circled, but all the information is beyond Sidney's comprehension.

"Sidney, this is a blood panel looking at the presence of hormones — specifically progesterone, which you can see is rather high." Vyas pauses to allow his words to sink in. "Along with the other numbers, we have only one plausible reason for why Mr. Seguin acted out the other night."

Sidney furrows his brow as he looks from the printout to Dr. Vyas. "What does this mean?"

"It means that you have successfully caught." Sidney feels his eyes widen in shock, looking at Mario for confirmation. Mario nods his head in a quick gesture and Sidney falls back in his chair. He looks down at his stomach as though it has betrayed him. 

"Sidney, I know this must be a shock. We all respect your privacy and hope that you and your mate know that we have no plans to out either of you. However, we all want to support you and the pup." Jim continues discussing the different avenues they have to maintain Sidney's privacy and for keeping the pup healthy. He shares that Jen has several narratives on how to excuse his absence for the remainder of the season. 

At the comment about his season being over, Sidney raises a hand in a stop gesture. He refuses to look anywhere but his stomach as he speaks. "I appreciate all of your help. I'm extremely overwhelmed by this news and need to process it." He looks at Mike, then Jen. "Would one of you send me an email with all of this? I can get to it after I've had some time." 

Pushing the chair back from the table, Sidney stops when he feels Mario grab his wrist. 

"There's an extra seat at the dinner table for you, even if we are hosting visitors. Please don't forget." Sidney nods before pulling away and leaving the room. He walks in a daze to the change room and finds his car keys and wallet, then walks over to leave them in Flower's stall. 

Stripping down, Sidney spares a brief thought for how many times he has shifted or been hit since he shared his Howl with Zhenya. Shaking his head, he remembers Mario's invitation.

His wolf remembers that the alpha is there. That Nathalie forbade him from being seen. The wolf wonders at the timing and urges Sidney to move. Sidney is not about to turn down the first true interaction his wolf has made since the January moon.

Being alone is both the first and last thing Sidney needs to be. So, he shifts into his fur and makes his way out of the arena and sprints towards the Lemieux household.

He can scent that none of the Lemieuxs are home, but there are others in the house. He slips in through the wolf friendly porch door, then makes his way up the stairs. He follows his nose down a hallway toward a heavier presence of a warm comforting scent.

Budging the door open with his muzzle, Sidney sits down in the doorway to take in the room. Laying in the bed and covered in sweat is Zhenya. Curled across his feet is a large grey wolf who watches Sidney suspiciously. Nicki is pressing a damp cloth to Zhenya's forehead. 

"If you hurt my mate I will kill you. If you hurt my brother I will kill you. You hurt me, my mate will tear you limb from limb." Nicki keeps his eyes on the sleeping man, which adds a layer of menace to the casual manner in which he speaks. "So I hope, for your sake, that you're not here to hurt anybody."

Sidney shakes his head but moves slowly towards the bed, projecting his every movement. He presses concern towards the grey wolf and hopes they can read it. Reaching the edge of the bed, his wolf cannot help but start a cautious tail wag as he presses his muzzle to Zhenya's hand. He smells nearly the same; just as alluring as he had been during their Howl. Only now there's an underlying tang of sickness. 

Sidney whimpers at the smell and pushes his muzzle under Zhenya's hand. He allows his eyes to close as he tries to make sense of the sickness. His wolf whimpers again as he tries to think under the limp hand.

The other wolf tilts his head to the side and blatantly watches Sidney. 

"Sasha hasn't decided what to make of you," Nicki shares from his seat next to the bed. He has one hand idly petting the grey wolf's ear. The rest of him is still and unreadable, making Sidney want to pull away in confusion while his wolf wants to bare his teeth and stake a claim. Instead, he perks up his ears and narrows his eyes while tilting his muzzle to find a better resting spot beneath Zhenya’s heated hand. 

"That right there is the confusion." Niki leans forward and gently rests his elbows on the grey wolf's hip. One hand falls forward to twirl the fur on the wolf's belly.

"Neither of us have seen you before. We would have known somebody our Zhenya would have mated with. And yet." The grey wolf huffs. "Yet here you are with his scent all over you. And you are visibly fighting with your wolf to be close to him."

Sidney flattens his ears and eyes the man and wolf, waiting for the attack. He knows his has no ground to stand on. He wants to speak with Zhenya, but he cannot if he is asleep. His wolf sends out a quick _wake up_ plead towards Zhenya and Sidney is surprised at the split feeling in himself returning briefly.

He feels his own anxiety rising and huffs out a warm breath through his nostrils, then stops as he feels the hand on his muzzle flex minutely. A pinky traces the fur on his muzzle. Sidney closes his eyes as his wolf all but purrs under the touch.

"Nicki? Most loud." The grey wolf leaps to his feet and stands over Zhenya as Zhenya coughs, then stops and inhales sharply. He looks at Nicki, then the grey wolf, and presses more firmly on Sidney’s muzzle before finally bringing his gaze to Sidney. 

Sidney stares at him from under Zhenya's hand. The droop of the eyes staring back at Sidney only make his heart ache at how exhausted and confused they are. He can see the anxious wolf behind them and wants to pull away. Sidney's wolf refuses and urges him to move closer. Instead, he pulls his ears back in an ashamed position and lifts a paw to place over the hand on his muzzle while whimpering softly.

Sidney hopes there is recognition that Sidney is just as confused about his actions as Zhenya is. 

"Zhenya, you have a guest," Nicki says as he raises his eyebrow, "and we have questions." The grey wolf huffs in agreement and leans down to nuzzle Zhenya's face.

"I think we all have questions," Nathalie says from the doorway. She looks frustrated and shocked as she takes in the tableau. "Zhenya, I'm glad to see you’re awake, but I think there's a bit too much excitement in this room." She looks at each of the guests, assessing before stopping on Sidney. Her eyes widen minutely before focusing on the hand resting on Sidney's muzzle.

"Sasha is a bit territorial right now," Nicki comments as he runs his hand along the grey wolf's side. The grey wolf turns to growl softly at Sidney then continues to turn towards Nathalie, the bared teeth turning to an open mouth with his tongue flopping out. "But I'm sure I can convince him to go for a run." The grey wolf looks back at Nicki with piqued interest. 

"No, don't do when you literally on me, Sasha." Zhenya whines and uses his free hand to press the grey wolf towards Nicki. 

"C'mon, Sash, we need to trust Nathalie." The grey wolf whimpers but turns to press his face into Zhenya's face. Sidney watches the interaction: how Zhenya rubs the wolf's head, their foreheads pressed together, silent pack conversation clearly taking place. 

The wolf pulls away after a moment and licks across Zhenya's face, then leaps from the bed before Zhenya can react. The wolf and Nicki walk out, chuckling.

Nathalie closes the door and moves to take over the seat Nicki just vacated. She sits up straight, then pulls her legs under her and settles back, all while watching Sidney. He’s always hated how she can see through him. Whatever she sees must be approved of, because she nods her head and gives him a fond, tender smile.

"Mario told me to expect you. Although, I was expecting you to come to me for help, not to our sick visitor." Nathalie inhales deeply as she cocks her head to focus on Zhenya. "That's very interesting. I wondered why you smelled so familiar." 

Zhenya scrunches up his nose in confusion and looks between Sidney and Nathalie. He keeps running his pinky up the bridge of Sidney's muzzle absentmindedly and Sidney wishes he would stop and never stop at the same time.

Nathalie stares at Sidney a moment longer and Sidney knows she can read something on him. However, she says nothing and turns her assessing gaze towards Zhenya. Sidney groans at the confusion in nicknames and real names and settles himself to ask what name is correct when he shifts next.

“How are you doing, Zhenya?” Zhenya shrugs and rubs his free hand down his face. Sidney marvels at how large his hands are and there’s a flash of memory from their night together and those hands on him. His whimper brings Nathalie and Zhenya’s gazes towards him. Sidney pushes his head further under the hand on his muzzle and wishes he could stop his wolf from being so vocal. 

“Not so hot. Head feel heavy, but dizzy not so bad.” His voice is gruff and raw as though his wolf is rumbling along with his human voice. Sidney can see the wolf close to the surface as Zhenya’s eye flit back to Sidney’s as he addresses Nathalie. 

“What about the smell and disorientation?” Nathalie stands up to lean over Zhenya and look into his eyes while placing her wrist to his forehead. 

“Smell not uncomfortable right now. Definitely more here, but not like is bad thing, you know?” Zhenya grouses and refuses to look at Sidney, which Sidney feels a bit of embarrassment about. 

“I don’t have to ask how your fatigue is, because you look like you definitely need more sleep.” Nathalie wipes her hand on her pants as she pulls away from the bed. “Sid, I’ll need to play taxi in a little while. Can you shift and keep watch to make sure our guest doesn’t get worse?” Sidney nods and pulls away from the hand on his muzzle. His wolf doesn’t fight as hard, knowing that they will be returning quickly. But his wolf preens under the knowledge that, as he pulls away, the hand on his muzzle becomes heavier and follows until Sidney has moved out of reach. 

Nathalie is at the door to open it for him and head into the hallway. She leaves it slightly ajar as she leads Sidney towards the leftover clothes bin in the closet. 

“Anything you want to talk about?” Nathalie asks nonchalantly as Sidney shifts back into his skin. She hands him a pair of sweats.

“Maybe in a little bit.” Sidney brushes a quick kiss to Nathalie’s cheek before he steps into the sweats to head back into the room. 

“I’ll be back up in a moment.” Nathalie gently pushes Sidney towards the door.

Sidney returns to the room, righting the waistband of the sweatpants he had left at the Lemieuxs’ because of Nathalie's ‘no bare asses on the furniture’ rule. He sits on the vacant chair by the bed and chews on his bottom lip as he thinks about how to start this conversation. 

"You leave." Zhenya sighs heavily, but not accusatorily. Sidney cannot stop the small blip of surprise at Zhenya diving right into the heart of the matter. "I’m wake up alone and all I have is smell all over me. Think I’m crazy. Know it's not dream because I'm sore — in best way — but beautiful omega I know I’m pass out with not there when wake up." Zhenya's hands make a soft thump as they fall to the blanket. 

When Sidney looks up, he can see the deep sorrow in Zhenya's face that exaggerates the droop of his eyes and pout of his lips. His heart aches with tenderness and he is unsure if it’s from him or his wolf.

"I'm think is just me. Sasha always tease because my crush on best hockey player in world so obvious. Then I see wolf-you, I maybe like know you because you smell everywhere to me. But you Sidney Crosby and you choose me to share Howl? Think you just beautiful wolf, then when we skin and skin and you're look at me and I'm know you…was meaning so much. Most scare and proud and I’m want so much to make good." Zhenya sighs heavily. Sidney hesitates as he lifts his head minutely to watch Zhenya from under his lashes. 

"It wasn't you. It was definitely me. I —" Sidney stumbles over his words, wanting to assuage the pain in Zhenya's words. "It was so much fun and my wolf was on this whole other level that we've never been at before and it - _you_ \- were amazing."

"I'm want be mad with you.” Zhenya’s speech starts to slur and his accent thickens as he shakes his head and blinks heavily. “But happy you here." Sidney blinks slowly as he tilts his head to the side to better take in Zhenya. His skin is pale with a sick and sweaty sheen. His cheeks are bright red — from embarrassment or fever Sidney isn't sure. His plush lips are pale and cracked and his eyes look heavier than any picture Sidney has seen of him. 

"Stay. Please." Zhenya places his hand on Sidney’s wrist and squeezes gently. Sidney watches as Zhenya shuts his eyes and slumps back in sleep. 

Sidney groans and tilts his face into his palms. He feels both lost at sea and more centered then he has in over a month. He can feel his wolf's anxiety bubbling under his skin. His collar bone throbs in a constant staccato, but it feels larger, brighter. 

He looks at Zhenya’s hand on his wrist, wondering how it can be so easy to talk to a stranger on such an intimate level. 

There’s a light knock on the door before it opens and Nathalie makes an interested noise. Sidney can feel her stop at his side and feels a modicum of relief as she slowly drags her fingers through his hair.

" _Ça va?_ " Nathalie inquires after a long pause between them; the only noise the snoring coming from Zhenya.

" _Ouai. Eh, non._ No." Sidney shakes his head, trying to bury his face further in his palm as he steels himself. "Have you ever felt disconnected from your wolf?" 

"No," she pauses her stroking and moves her hand to his chin and tips his face up to meet her gaze. "But it sounds like that is not the case for you." Her gentle gaze shifts to one of scrutiny. Sidney breathes deeply as he allows her to look seemingly through him. 

"Nathalie, I think I messed up." Sidney's confession is soft. "The disconnect is horrible and it's been happening ever since I made us leave after the Howl. Even after I shifted back, I had to really push to leave and that's when the disconnect started. And then this stupid bruise became worse and I'm getting nothing on how to fix this. We work together and it feels relatively normal, but we aren’t in sync like usual. Like my wolf is actively avoiding talking to me." Sidney sighs as he lets his eyes close. "And Segs mentioned there was a slip on the ice when I got hit and —"

"You have been fighting more," Nathalie muses as Sidney winces. "Maybe your wolf has known," Nathalie trails off and lifts Sidney's chin a bit higher.

"Sid, what is this bite impression?" Sidney can feel her eyes focused on his neck, but knows she won't find anything. 

"It wasn't a Bite." Sidney pulls his head away from her touch and lifts his hand to his collarbone. "It was more of a massive hickey with little nips taken at it. Zhenya didn't leave a bonding bite. I would have known." His fingers graze the spot tenderly and he looks back up at Nathalie hesitantly. “Right?”

"Zhenya?" Nathalie glances at the man in her guest bed. Her mind flicks through all the symptoms she had noted since his arrival both in January and a few days ago. Her own wolf is pacing as the pieces slide together and they both reel back suddenly. 

"Sid, did you share your Howl with him?" Sidney nods once. "And you left afterwards when your wolf didn't want to?" He nods again, shoulders slumping, but his fingers never leaving his collarbone.

"This changes everything." She leans over the bed to gently shake Zhenya awake. 

“Nathalie, stop.” Sidney leans forward to get between her and Zhenya, but he’s too late. There's a low whine that comes from Zhenya as he turns his head away from Nathalie. She pushes harder at his shoulder and starts to make a clicking noise with her tongue. Sidney can see Zhenya's brow furrowing before squinting his eyes open. 

"I'm sorry to wake you. I know I've been encouraging you to sleep, but I might have a solution and your answer to this question is important. " Zhenya grumbles his agreement and blinks quickly as he tries to focus on Nathalie and ignore that Sidney is still beside him. 

"Has there been any problems between you and your wolf since you were last in Pittsburgh?" The pause between Nathalie's question and Zhenya's short nod is enough time for Sidney to feel his skin prickle as his wolf takes interest. "All right, I think we have a bond infection. You didn't let the bond complete itself, and with your wolves disconnecting from you it's created a crisis for both of you."

Zhenya and Sidney's eyes lock in shock and confusion. "But I haven't had any symptoms like he has," Sidney counters, frowning in frustration. 

"No, you wouldn't when your body and wolf have something to protect. Omega instinct is a scary thing, Sidney." Nathalie pats his shoulder then looks back at Zhenya. "I need you both to shift and get on the bed." Nathalie pulls the covers aside to help Zhenya as he scoots to the end of the bed. She offers a hand that Zhenya declines as he averts his eyes from Sidney.

Sidney slips off his sweats, then tries not to be shocked at the feeling of being bowled over from within. His wolf lunges into the shift and Sidney has to splay all four paws on the wood floor as his fur settles. When he looks towards the bed Nathalie is appraising the long legged wolf Sidney has not seen since January. Zhenya's wolf thumps his tail once when he looks at Sidney, then presses his muzzle quickly to Nathalie's cheek before flopping on the bed in exhaustion, his large head resting on his front paws.

Sidney pulls himself onto the bed as Nathalie stands up. He tilts his head to the side and looks at her as he pushes a sense of curiosity and patience towards her. Nathalie gasps slightly as she gets a closer look at Sidney. He is unsure what she notices, but the mothering expression does not make him feel any less guilty.

" _I didn't realize. I'm so sorry you've been so off, Sid. Just lay down next to him and rest. Even if you cannot sleep, he will. Let your wolf have a little more control._ " She chuckles at the wary look Sidney sends her way before turning and assessing the remaining room on the bed. 

As he curls himself in a half circle facing Zhenya, he notices the rapid twitching of Zhenya's nose. Zhenya shifts his head minutely towards Sidney, shrinking the distance between them. Sidney’s wolf urges him closer but Sidney tries to fight it, not wanting to get into Zhenya’s space to heal.

He hears the door click shut as Nathalie leaves. Glancing over his shoulder, Sidney releases a small sigh and turns back to rest his head on his paws.

After a few moments, the urge to move closer pushes Sidney to shuffle forward until Zhenya's nose is pressed against Sidney's paw. There's a huff of warm air against his paw as Sidney watches Zhenya's wolf sink further into the mattress. Sidney moves his own head to block Zhenya's from the immediate view of the door. 

A tension in Sidney's body slowly loosens and he relaxes next to Zhenya. He feels a deep-seated fatigue wash over him and doesn't fight the pull of sleep.

***

Zhenya rolls to his side and stretches out as long as he can before allowing his tail to smack against the bed with a soft whuff. He freezes and opens his eyes to find the omega wolf sleeping beside him: the large black head turned toward Zhenya with his pepper grey muzzle resting near Zhenya. There’s a moment of mixed emotions as Zhenya rolls back into his sleeping position and realizes that Sidney's muzzle was pressed against him.

There's a press of comfort and relaxation before the feeling of embarrassment floods through to Zhenya. He looks around him to see if any of his band pack is nearby. His ears twist back to the wolf next to him before his head returns. 

Amber eyes are staring back at him and Zhenya inhales slowly. He enjoys the full feeling in his lungs and the continuity with his wolf. He finds himself torn between reveling in the strong and real scent surrounding him, and wanting to run away from how easily his wolf is willing to forgive. 

Zhenya pushes a thread of curiosity towards Sidney's wolf, who immediately reflects shyness and remorse. Zhenya scoots forward and presses his front paw against Sidney's. When the other wolf doesn't move, Zhenya sighs in relief.

There's a steady look from Sidney before he shifts back into his skin. Zhenya stares as Sidney stretches out on his side and keeps his eyes on Zhenya. 

"We need to talk." His voice is calm and steady. Zhenya can feel hesitancy leaking off Sidney and blinks in confusion. He doesn't usually feel the connection when his pack and he aren't all in their fur. Clearly his confusion is felt by Sidney who blinks in surprise before scratching at his ear shyly.

"I think," Sidney scrunches his face as he pauses to exhale heavily. "Let me say this first. You said you want to be mad at me and I want you to know: you’re right. You have every right to be mad at me." Zhenya feels a burst of anger roll off him and Sidney gasps, blinking quickly as he scans Zhenya’s face searchingly. "Ok, so you're mad that I'm saying you can be mad?" Zhenya tilts his head to the side and snuffs indignantly. "Yeah, all right. I just — I want you to know I'm sorry and I don't know if the past weeks have been as hard for you, but," Sidney's fingers lightly brush over Zhenya's paw. A flash of longing and relief comes across so strongly he is unsure who it came from. 

"But I'm so sorry. I was scared and my wolf has been livid ever since. It’s been horrible.” Zhenya reels back as he feels the impression of disconnect and begrudging cooperation and more. He feels his spine stiffen and his ears curl towards Sidney. Lifting his nose in the air, Zhenya inhales slowly before snuffing and running his nose over Sidney's torso. Now that he lets himself sit in the scent a bit more, he can taste something different, something that was not present in the forest. Zhenya stands on his paws, looks at Sidney's naval, and inhales slowly before looking up at Sidney. He hopes his face can show the shock that he knows he is emitting. 

He can feel a flash of embarrassment from Sidney as Zhenya shoves the impression of their scents combining with the shock. Zhenya waits and watches Sidney's face to see how clearly he received the impression.

A quick nod from Sidney.

Zhenya inhales slowly then presses the word "bond" forward. He tries to think of combined scents and howls and knots but Sidney's reddened face stops him. Zhenya sits on his hindquarters with a mixture of shock and embarrassment. 

"I don't know why this feels easy. I shouldn't be this relaxed with you sending words and images to me. Only a few of my pack can do that, and only when we are all in out fur. " Sidney rolls onto his back and throws an arm behind his head. 

"I’m not sure if it would be better or worse to have Flower in my head during a game." Zhenya can see the small smile on Sidney's face. He looks back towards Sidney's naval and huffs before pressing his nose to Sidney's skin. 

He can hear Sidney's sharp inhale and then a couple small giggles as Zhenya slides his nose across the flesh. He pushes the word ticklish towards Sidney as a question wrapped in mischief. "Oh my god, don't you dare. I'm still trying to process it all."

Zhenya angles his head so he can eye Sidney while continuing to breathe in the warm scent of Sidney mixed with himself. There’s something subtle in between their scents; something that reminds him of home and comfort and being small. 

There's a deep sadness that overcomes Zhenya as the image of hockey skates being hung up for the season floods through him. Sidney shares a glimpse of a room filled with suited people and somebody congratulating Sidney, another telling him his season is over, and Mario Lemieux reminding him to see Nathalie.

Zhenya watches him for a moment longer as the thoughts dim, leaving Zhenya to feel Sidney's hesitancy. Zhenya presses his nose into the fleshy area below Sidney's navel and the start of his pubic hair. Again, he breathes slowly and thinks of the implications of their combined scent with a little added extra, and of Sidney being told to end his season with congratulations. He pulls back and sits straight up. Sidney is eyeing him warily.

"So you got what I was thinking?" Zhenya nods his wolf head once then leans forward to lick gently at the spot he had just been smelling. He has a hard time hiding his awe as he thinks of the only possible answer. He pushes ‘pup’ hesitantly towards Sidney but he knows the awe is evident by the softness in Sidney’s eyes.

"Yeah, so you know. We caught successfully.” Zhenya finds the accompanying bashful shoulder shrug endearing and tries not to groan at how easy this is. “So much for all those lectures about knowing when it happens. The catching or the bond, that is. I didn't even know and I think it was part of the reason I wasn't as sick after I left our bond incomplete. I've been thinking about how quickly my wolf became attached to you, and it was so scary. I —” Sidney exhales harshly as Zhenya rests his head below Sidney’s naval.

“I’m so confused. It feels like I’ve known you forever, but we only just met and now. Now we have a bond and a pup. This wasn’t supposed to be how this happened.” Sidney groans and then shifts back to his fur so he can pull himself into a small ball and cover his face with his paws. 

Zhenya flops down next to Sidney and scoots close enough to rest his head over Sidney’s side. “I need to touch you.” Zhenya pushes through and hopes that it’s clear just how urgent his wolf is about trying to comfort Sidney. There’s a resigned push back with a “please” attached. 

Zhenya sighs and sinks against Sidney. Thinking about their conversation and the news that under his head is something half his growing. How he had formed a bond without properly biting was something he would examine later, but at the moment he wants to focus on the implications of having a pup. 

It’s with thoughts from Sidney about them needing to talk more that Zhenya falls asleep, mumbling his agreement.

**April**

“Social media is burning all around the band, Zhenya,” Patric groans, slumping down in the chair next to the bed. Sasha is laying across the foot of the bed, his hands absentmindedly rubbing at his growing belly. Nicki and Malin are seated on chairs to Zhenya’s left.

“Is not burn, Patric.” Sasha rolls his eyes. “Swedes are so dramatic.” He throws a wink at Zhenya before tilting his head back to blow a kiss to Nicki, who rolls his eyes and sighs before he looks back to Malin.

“Maybe not burning, but lots of people are curious about what we’re going to do. Hell, I’m curious what we’re going to do.” Niki looks towards Malin, expectantly.

“I’m talk with Sid.” Zhenya chooses to ignore the raised eyebrows looking at him at the nickname. “We’re trying to make good family for our pup. It not help if both papa and daddy on the road all the time and pup stay with pack. I’m not like and Sid definitely not like. So I suggest I talk with you about band break.”

“A break?” Sasha sits up abruptly then promptly falls back with a groan. “Nicki, shake some sense into him. Your pup won’t let me move fast enough.” 

“That’s not my pup, it’s all the damn fries you’ve been binging.” Nicki taps Sasha’s forehead with his finger and turns away to avoid smiling at Sasha’s pout. Nicki takes a moment to observe Zhenya: specifically the color that’s returned to his face, the brightness behind his eyes, and an ease in his shoulders that hadn’t been there before. “Tell me what this break is about.”

“I’m not mean to break band for good. Just want —” Zhenya rubs the back of his head and smiles shyly. “So many pups coming soon and we all need focus on helping them. Is not smart to travel with so many small pups. Sid very worry with how much hockey travel, about not being around enough. I want stay close to my pup and Sid, so I think we need break. Make new songs, aim for new tour in a few years.”

“You’ve thought this through, Zhenya. I’m surprised,” Patric teases. Zhenya laughs heartily and shakes his head.

“No choice, Patric. Sidney always captain. Captain of hockey, captain of pup, captain of everything.” Zhenya groans with a small smile. Patric howls in laughter and Malin tosses a pen at him which does nothing to stop his laughter.

“Mal, your mate so mean,” Zhenya whines with a puppy face. “Mean to brother stuck in bed for weeks.”

“Yeah, if we didn’t know you were spending it trying to build a relationship with your pupper, we might feel more inclined to feel poorly for you,” Malin retorts with a friendly eye roll. “But I like this plan. I’ll write something to say that we are on a hiatus to care for our expanding pack, and hope that the new life changes will inspire growth and changes in our music that we hope to share with the fans in the coming years." 

“That’s perfect, Mal.” Nicki presses a kiss to her hair. “Always the genius. I don’t know how Patric mated you.” 

“Speaking of mates!” Sasha struggles to pull himself into a sitting position. “Mine needs to take me back to the apartment we are renting. Patric, Mal, are you bringing Carl, Erika, and the pups over for dinner and the run still?”

“That’s the plan.” 

Zhenya groans. “I miss running.” He flops back on the bed. “Nathalie wants Sid and me run with them. Is like she worry something happen to grandpup if she not see.”

Nicki and Malin exchange a meaningful look. Zhenya grumbles and throws a pillow at them. “We not know! Not stupid now we know!” 

“Sure you’re not,” Sasha chimes in as he leans over to ruffle Zhenya’s hair. “Have fun tonight with your new pack!” 

**May**

“Wake up, assholes!” The door flings open and Flower marches in to stare down at the sleeping wolves intertwined on the guest bed. Zhenya has been showing marked improvement. No longer feeling constantly fatigued, having phantosmia, or staring off into space randomly, Zhenya finds himself ready to start looking at the life he is trying to negotiate with Sidney and their packs. 

Zhenya had been grateful that Sidney was keeping him separated from his pack brothers while he healed. Sidney had shared that it was not an easy feat and was unsure how long it would work. Clearly, six weeks was all the time they would receive.

Zhenya hopes his breathing has not outwardly shifted as he burrows his muzzle into Sidney’s underbelly. Sidney hasn’t stopped him from curling up between his hind legs, but he has been frustrated with just how excited Zhenya has been to be so close to their pup as his stomach grows bigger, especially with the weather heating up. There had been threats of being shaved if Zhenya insisted on being so close regardless if Sidney was in fur or skin.

“ _Make him go away, Zhenya,_ ” Sidney grumbles, half asleep, through their bond. Zhenya fights the elation that rolls off him at Sidney’s obvious grouchiness; something that Zhenya had not expected to find endearing at all. 

He pulls away from Sidney and pulls himself into a sitting position to glare down at Flower from his scant few inches of superior height. 

“Yeah, I bet you’re _Zhenya_.” Zhenya tries not to smile at the teasing flourish Flower adds to his name. “Sid has always liked them big and ugly. Now shift so I can wake Sid up and not worry about you peeing on me or some other weird territorial Russian wolf behavior.” Zhenya growls as Flower sits partially on the bed. He stops when he notices the tiny pup in Flower’s arms. Flower smirks at Zhenya and looks down at the sleeping pup.

“Sid, hey, wake up.” Flower runs his fingers over the fur coming from Sidney’s ears, chuckling as they start twitching. “C’mon, no more avoiding us.” Sidney lifts a paw to swat at Flower’s hand and whines pathetically.

“ _I’m going to kill him._ ” Sidney pushes to Zhenya as he lifts his head and glares at his brother. 

“There you are!” Flower leans back and readjusts the pup in his arm. “Hurry up and get into your skin so we can talk. _Mon petit_ won’t shift if anybody nearby is in fur and you need to see your nephew.” Sidney grumbles as he sits up and rolls his shoulders before shifting into his skin. Zhenya perks up and cannot stop his tail from wagging happily as he can see the swell of Sidney’s stomach. And his ass, but Zhenya hesitates to share that appreciation too loudly as he and Sidney start to build a solid base for their bond.

“No,” Sidney glares at Zhenya as he stands up to grab for the clothes on the chair next to the bed. Zhenya ducks his head slightly at the exhausted tone in Sidney’s words. “Zhenya, shift now,” Sidney demands as he turns around and readjusts his basketball shorts to rest below his bump. He holds out a pair of sweats and waits. 

“But I enjoy the view.” Zhenya grumbles as he jumps off the bed and lands on his two feet, facing Sidney with a pout. Flower whistles as Zhenya turns to step into his pants.

“Well, _mon frere_ you always did like ‘em big.” 

“Quit it, Flower,” Sidney sighs as he leans into Flower’s space to stare at the couple months old russet pup. “ _Allo_ , James.” Zhenya grins as Flower and Sidney share a few words while Flower places the now shifted pup into Sidney’s arms. Zhenya watches Sidney bounce the pup until it shifts into skin. The pup looks nearly identical to Flower in his skin, just chubbier and sleepier. 

“Go talk with _Oncle Sid, mon petit._ ” Flower turns to Zhenya and grins. Zhenya sighs and starts to walk towards the door, knowing that Flower is following him.

They head out to the backyard and start to amble towards the edge of the yard. Zhenya slips his hands into his pockets as Flower walks at his side. 

“So it’s been like two months. You seem better,” Flower hedges. “But you’ve been around Sidney basically every day and I don’t know you. Like, at all.”

“We here now. Go ahead.”

“This isn’t some romantic movie where we’re so compatible that we bond accidentally and now we are the perfect couple thing, right?” Zhenya groans and shakes his head vigorously.

“Sid say you’re not mince words.” Zhenya smirks as Flower chuckles. Zhenya can feel Sidney peeking in through their bond, a sensation he still isn’t used to and does his best to ignore. “No, is not like, big romantic story. Is lots of work. We talk so much with mouths, in heads, so many lists. Sid make so many lists about what to talk about. But is good. We need and I’m know it mean a lot him.” Zhenya smirks to himself. “Mean a lot me too. Want our pup to have good family even if we not love each other. We need respect and cooperate, you know?” Flower nods.

“Nice start, but,” Flower lifts his eyebrow as he stares at Zhenya.

“I care for him and hope we make bond turn to mates, but, Marc-Andre, I’m think it’s gonna take long time. I stay here so we with his pack when pup arrive. He can do hockey and when pup older, either Sid retire or _Ptich’i Mozgi_ break up, but for now I write songs and raise pup with Sid until we make up minds. Is most important both of us. We wanting be a good team for raise our pup first. If I'm having crush him maybe he crush me but pup first."

“Ok. But you know, if you hurt him, I don’t care how much that pup looks like you or how much he is attached to you, he’s our captain and brother. Nobody will know where to find all the pieces.” Zhenya tries not to chuckle at the serious look Flower is giving him as he can feel Sidney laughing in the back of his mind. 

“I understand. Don’t hurt Sid or is most bad for me.” 

“Yes, most bad.” Flower throws his arm over Zhenya’s shoulders and turns them back towards the house. “Now, tell me, how is our Sid handling his body changing and no hockey.”

Zhenya groans. “We fighting so much. Even Nathalie and Mario have kids hide skates and change code to rink. Doctor give us exercises that won’t hurt pup or Sid. Is so hard. Why we’re in fur so much.” Zhenya sighs. “Is good though. We learning how to understand each other’s heads.” 

“Flower.” Sidney is walking towards them wearing his basketball shorts and a baggy old Penguins shirt. There’s a slump in his posture while he carries the baby. “If you’re done threatening Zhenya, we need to head out to our checkup.” James whines as Flower settles him into the crook of his arm and slides his other arm around Sidney for a hug. 

“Have fun,” Flower throws at them as he walks away. Zhenya stands by as Flower heads around the side of the house. Sidney hands him a shirt and rolls his eyes as Zhenya slips it over his head.

“So we fight a lot, huh?” Sidney smiles before hip checking Zhenya.

“Sid, so many lists. So tired.” Zhenya throws his arms around Sidney’s shoulders and buries his head in his neck. Sidney slips his arms to rest loosely around Zhenya’s waist. “How we raise pup on just lists.”

“Ha ha.” Sidney starts pushing Zhenya to walk backwards towards the back door to the garage.

**January**

Sidney is stripping out of his suit the moment he walks through the door to their house. He is exhausted, but only wants to get out of his skin and into his fur. He can feel Zhenya in the back of his mind like a soft trickle of water. It helps urge him quicker through the stripping and placing his game day suit on the entryway chest before shifting into his fur.

Zhenya’s comforting hums and teases are not directed towards Sidney, which lets Sidney enjoy how Zhenya is talking about birds and Russia in an almost stream of consciousness rather then a conversation.

Sidney hurries down the hallway towards the media room turned den. There’s a nest of blankets where Sidney finds Zhenya’s large brown wolf curled around a tiny brown and white pup. The pup falls over its own feet when they notice Sidney. Zhenya’s chuckle matches Sidney’s as Zhenya rights the pup before pulling them closer to himself. 

Sidney gently lays himself down next to Zhenya in a mirroring position so his front paws overlap Zhenya’s. No sooner does Sidney’s stomach hit the nest before the pup is clambering over Sidney, yipping and whimpering as Sidney laves them with his tongue. The pup pulls back and circles awkwardly between Zhenya and Sidney before tripping on their overlapping paws. 

Zhenya yawns overdramatically and lowers his head onto their paws and pretends to fall asleep. Their pup whines softly but quickly flops next to Zhenya’s head and looks up at Sidney. Never one to mess with a game day ritual, Sidney lays his head down and nuzzles his muzzle into the pup briefly before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank my wonderful beta for listening to about 20 different versions of this fic before I even started to type. And for all the texts they received about Sid deciding to throw the plot out the window because he wanted something and that shifted the story, yet again. Also my lamenting how long it took for these two idiots to talk to each other.
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at  
> [8771eh](https://8771eh.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  **Terminology** :
> 
> Waning-Anxiety-emotional roller coaster in the time of not knowing if caught during mating
> 
> Caught/Catch: to be with pup
> 
> Slip-miscarriage (Seguin never calls his miscarriage a slip, but Tanger does in a brief line)
> 
> Pupping: growing a pup from utero to human skin (usually pregnancy to 4 years)
> 
> Pupper- baby mama/daddy
> 
> Neuters: birth control and a neutralizing compound used to recenter shifters when their dynamic starts to overwhelm them with instinct.
> 
> First moon: birth day. There are different names for different moons in each season and when that particular moon circles again its been a year. So basically it’s a birthday. 
> 
> Ptich'i Mozgi- The band name which google translate promises me means: Bird Brains


End file.
